It's Puzzling

Like I don't have enough to do...my Aunt just got a computer and she likes doing jigsaw puzzles on it. She got me started on a puzzle program with 1200 fabulous images that you can make into puzzles starting from 24 pieces to 1000 or more for the truly sadistic.

This is one of the images from the puzzle software. They've got some nice stuff. Now I can add computer puzzles to my list of things to do...

Somebody....saaaaave meeeee!

Hero Archetypes

I'm blogging about sci-fi, paranormal and fantasy heroes at Star-Crossed today. Hop on over and tell me who your favorite is.

Somebody Save Me!

I just hate it when I have a song stuck in my head. I’ve been working my way through Smallville [up to season 4 now] and every DVD starts with a rendition of the theme song, Save Me by a group called Remy Zero.

Here’s the chorus that plays in my head ALL THE TIME now.


All my dreams are on the ground
Crawling' round and round and round

Somebody save me
Let your waters break right through
Somebody save me
I don't' care how you do it
Just save me, save me
I've made this whole world shine for you
Just save, save
Come on
I'm still waiting for you

How does one get a song out of your head? Singing it doesn’t do any good. Maybe electro shock therapy? Suggestions, anyone? Help...somebody SAVE meeeeeeee!

And for an Amber Quill Update...

Check out the Amber Heat Authors Blog where I've posted some info on my upcoming 2007 Amber Heat titles along with some excerpts.

Happy Reading!

Testosterone on Ice

The Flyers beat the Rangers today, 5-3.

Oh well.

I don't have much of an idea about how the game works. A bunch of guys on skates brandishing long sticks chase a little black puck around until they get lucky enough to knock it into a goal. When that happens, everyone stands up and cheers [or jeers depending on whose side you're on] and then they face off and do it all over again.

In between chasing the puck, they break into fights.

It's hard to punch somebody on ice skates because they tend to drift away thanks to Newton's Third Law of Motion, so when a player wants to pop another player in the nose, he has to grab hold of his uniform to hold him still, then beat the snot out of him, sometimes even removing the other player's helmet in order to hit him harder in places that will pop open and spurt blood.

I discovered that the referees don't interfere when this happens.

It's an interesting phenomenon. A hell of a thing to watch.

I can't really explain why I enjoyed the game, but I did.

I'm wondering how I can work this experience into a story....

New and noteworthy

Time for some new blurbs for upcoming stories.

Scheduled for summer release in Samhain’s Midsummer Night’s Steam anthology-

La Mirage by Jennifer Colgan

Is their passion real, or only a mirage?

On a lonely stretch of I-95 in the middle of the Nevada desert, journalist Savanna Blaine and photographer Ben Lantano find themselves stranded by engine trouble on their way back from an assignment. Their quest for a gas station leads them to La Mirage, a beautiful resort nestled in a secluded canyon where they are the only guests.

Invited to spend the night in lush accommodations, passion flares between Savanna and Ben who have suppressed their hidden desires long enough. A single touch ignites an unforgettable night in each other’s arms, but the next day, when La Mirage mysteriously disappears, they’re left to wonder, is their newfound intimacy real or nothing more than a trick of the summer heat?

And coming soon from Ellora’s Cave!

Rogue Theta by Bernadette Gardner

Lilliana Jarmock’s mission is to neutralize a rampaging war machine. A super soldier of the Theta Series of cybernetically enhanced infantry has gone rogue.

Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Gaige gave up his name, his home and his freedom to volunteer for the Theta project. He thought he had nothing left to lose. The beautiful assassin sent to kill him peaks more than his curiosity and Gaige discovers long suppressed feelings of desire battling with his enhanced survival instincts. The man he once was is drawn to the sexy huntress whose mission is to destroy him at any cost. Who will survive and who will become the hunted?

In other news:

I was just browsing around Fictionwise and noticed that

Ravenstar’s Bride is # 9 on the recent best seller list and Number One on the Amber Quill list at Fictionwise!

Don’t forget the Valentine’s Day sale at Fictionwise! All romance and erotica books are 20% off so hurry and stock up today!

Everyone Says I Love You

For a collection of excerpts for Valentine's Day, visit Star-Crossed Romance!

Have a great day everyone! Here in the Northeast I'm snowed in [well, iced in actually] with the kids so I'm trading in romance for watching cartoons and spreading salt crystals on the driveway. Fun, fun!

A little inspiration

I was browsing my picture file today, trying to put together a blog entry and realized I was missing one of the pictures I wanted to use to illustrate my point.

So, being lazy and not feeling like searching the web for the picture, which I must have deleted when I was recently cleaning out said picture file, I decided to go in a completely different direction and post all my inspirational hero pics - or as many as blogger will allow me to cram into one post. Here goes:

I normally don't go for body shots, not that I don't find bodies inspirational, but it's the faces that attract me, expecially the eyes. My heroes tend to be tall, dark and handsome - cliche I know, but it works.

There's room for the occasional blond hero, but he's got to be exceptional.

I haven't used the guy with the tattoo yet...oh, strike that, maybe I have...

Here's one more inspirational photo:



This is DH back before we were married. Can you see why I go for the dark hair and blue eyes? He does inspire my heroes a lot - there's a little bit of him in all of them [mostly the sarcastic part] but still...

Top of the naughty list

I just got the cover art for my upcoming print anthology, Unleashed! This one definitely goes on the naughty list:

Unleashed will be released in print in March and contains The Demon of Pelican Bluff and my March 2006 release, Wolfsbane: Apsect of the Wolf.

What happens when you unleash the beast within?

In Wolfsbane: Aspect of the Wolf, the only person who can help Daniel Garrison cure his brother’s lycanthropy happens to be Emilie Swanson, the witch he tried to run out of town. Between one fateful full moon and the next, Daniel discovers his feelings for Emilie transforming into a passion as wild as the werewolf that brought them together.

In The Demon of Pelican Bluff, cryptozoolgist Laurel Jensen is finally on the trail of the winged beast that haunts her dreams. He calls to her, eager to lure her into his clutches and claim her for his own. Will she give herself to the erotic allure and choose a demon lover over the man of her dreams?

Praise for Wolfsbane:

5 Kisses! The dialogue is crisp and the sexual tension palpable. The clever twist near the end highlights some brilliant slight of hand ....— C.C. Ellis, Romance Divas Reviews

Wolfsbane: Aspect of the Wolf was a true joy to read. The story was fast paced and so well written that I read it in one sitting…. Jennifer Colgan has incorporated a touch of humor, a threat of danger and such compelling characters that this book will remain on my keeper shelf. ...a smashing hit. Stacey Brutger for The Road to Romance

He haunts her dreams....

Available today!

The Demon Of Pelican Bluff
By Jennifer ColganISBN-13: 978-1-59279-674-8 (Electronic)
Genres: Shapeshifter / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy / Paranormal / Psychic Phenomena
Heat Level: 2
Length: Novella (29k words)
Normal Price: $5.00 Each

Sale Price: $3.75 Each

Something is on the prowl in Pelican Bluff, Minnesota. When the mayor of the small town calls in cryptozooloist Laurel Jensen to investigate strange sightings of a winged, demon-like beast roaming the forest, she can’t resist. It’s not her passion for the unknown that draws her, though, it’s her need to come face-to-face with the creature that’s been haunting her dreams. Laurel has seen the beast, too. He calls to her, eager to lure her into his clutches and claim her for his own. Certainly not a run-of-the-mill cryptid, more than a clever hoax, the beast is real, and it’s searching for the perfect mate. National Forest Service Ranger Cade Morrison draws the thankless task of escorting Laurel on her search for evidence of the beast’s existence. Cade knows the mayor is looking for publicity to attract tourists to the Bluff and he doesn’t want any part of it. But he does want part of Laurel Jensen. Or maybe all of her. Too bad he’s not willing to share her with The Demon of Pelican Bluff.........Find Out More!

Buy The Demon of Pelican Bluff

***

This novella is available as part of the Beast Master Vol. 1 Amber Pax from Amber Quill Press.

You can purchase this title alone or as a collection with:

Deadly Desires by April Reid
Dragon Fire by Sherrill Quinn
Fire Breather by Marie Harte
Nellie's Rogue Stallion by Deirdre O'Dare

Another hot guy...

... to add to my growing collection.


I got my cover art from Amber Quill yesterday and all I have to say is YUM!



This blue eyed hottie is Tarrant Kane. He's a super soldier - bred for military command and retired from service when the galactic war ends. His new objective is to learn how to live as a civilian. A very wealthy civilian.

His self-imposed mission gets a little easier when he meets exotically beautiful Nola Rule at the exclusive resort on Sensuron. Nola offers him intense carnal pleasures and something he craves even more than sex: a challenge.

Kane’s dalliance with Nola comes with a steep price, however. When she disappears after a night of unbridled passion, he realizes that falling in love is a risk he isn’t prepared to take.


* * *
Excerpt from A Calculated Risk:

Nola Rule studied the man at the bar, noting every detail of his appearance, both for her own aesthetic pleasure and for future reference.

Even seated, as he was on one of the free-form acrylic stools, he towered over the bartender. His tanned legs stretched beneath him, perfectly sculpted columns of muscle. His feet, casually bare, were planted firmly on the polished teakwood boards below the bar stool.

Nola dragged her gaze back up, stopping briefly at the tight black swim trunks and the half-dozen ridges of his abdominals. She licked her lips at the bulge barely disguised in his swimsuit. He had all the right equipment, and she relished the thought of discovering just how well he used it.

When he leaned back, laughing at the bartender’s joke and lifting a blood-red drink to his lips, Nola continued her perusal.

Dusky brown nipples tipped his perfectly defined pectorals. The smattering of midnight black curls between them matched the color of the hair on his head. This was slicked back against his skull and still shiny and wet from a recent dip in one of the resort’s six pools.

Tarrant Kane, a former General of Earth-Sec Defenses, was a sight to behold. He wouldn’t be an easy mark, but once Nola had him between her legs, she had no doubt that for once she would thoroughly enjoy her assignment. If only they were all this enticing.
Now, finished with her visual reconnaissance, Nola raised the sunglasses she wore. The silver framed lenses could record a brief video scan of her objective while simultaneously shielding her eyes from the orange glow of Sensuron’s dwarf sun.
Nestled in her own raven tresses, the glasses would transmit a brief and very detailed med scan report back to her handlers at In-Teron. They’d be pleased. Kane looked to be in perfect health, fit and seemingly free of stress. His retirement from the military suited him, though he lacked one thing Nola would have considered a given for a man of his...stature: female companionship. It wasn’t that the women, who outnumbered the men on Sensuron two to one, weren’t looking, but Kane seemed to exude an air of aloofness that gave even the most jaded manhunters the clear message he was out of their league.
This only made Nola’s job easier.
A Calculated Risk is coming soon from Amber Heat!
PS: This cover is not part of my 'Pick my favorite cover art contest.' For the list of those that are visit my Contest page, there's still time to enter!

Two for one

Two-holiday decorating for the price of one. I went to the Christmas Tree Shoppe yesterday [love that store!] and found these cute green wreaths. Now I can be ready for Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day all at once!

Anything to make life a little easier, besides I like green better than red.

Do I normally like to cut corners? Well, yes.

When it comes to housecleaning, decorating, laundry, yard work...I will take the easiest way out. Whatever gets the job done with the least amount of effort is for me. Sad, but true.

Fortunately this doesn't extend to my writing. There, I take the long, hard road as opposed to the short cuts every time. I write long hand these days [some of you are moaning, I know] but I actually get more work done that way. Then I type up my rough draft, doing first round edits as I go. Then I proofread, edit, proofread, send to my CPs, proofread and edit based on CP's suggestions, proofread and edit again. Then I say a small prayer before sending my manuscript out to an editor or agent, even someone I've worked with before.

No shortcuts. Why? Well, I don't want my work to ever look like something I just threw together. [Yesterday I redoctorated my living room for under $30.00. I bought some new pillows, a pretty mohair throw for the couch, some inexpensive new valances for the windows and in 15 minutes the room had a new look.] It works for the living room, but that won't work for a manuscript. I can't spruce something up with a quick once over and believe it's good enough for the public to see. If someone ever says, "Oh, her living room is sooo...thrown together." Hell, I'll survive. But I don't want someone to be able to say that about my writing. I'm a firm believer that the more effort you put into your work, the more effortless it actually looks. I have no problem with anyone thinking I write flawless first drafts and never need to be edited. I know the truth. And I have no problem with people thinking I redecorated my living room in 15 minutes because they'd be right.

The advantages of a blackout

I'm posting at Star-Crossed Romance today about my mini-vacation from the 21st Century.
Check it out!

I'm having another contest!

I was updating my website yesterday and I was looking at all my book covers and thinking how cool they are. I've been very lucky to get some phenomenal cover art and I decided I wanted to know what everybody else thought of all these hunky men. So I decided on the spur of the moment to have a contest to find out.

It's easy to enter just...

Pick your favorite cover art!

To enter, go to the contest page of my website:
http://www.jennifercolgan.com/contest.htm
Choose your favorite cover art from the twelve choices shown:

E-mail your choice to me at jcolgan@newoa.com

Put FAVORITE COVER in the subject line

The winner will be announced on March 2nd 2007 and will receive a copy of the winning book (or book of their choice from the twelve titles if they already have the winning book)

Good luck!

Capital Squeeeeeee!

I got my March issue of Romantic Times yesterday and lo and behold I found THIS!

4 ½ Stars!
Fascinating plot twists and skillful pacing will keep readers engrossed in this futuristic romance. The classic plot of a damsel in distress gets a fresh spin with well-developed characters and realistic dialogue. (There’s one explicit sexual encounter that’s fundamental to the story.) Colgan’s vivid imagery paints a clear picture of another world – one that readers will want to revisit. – Gail Pruszkowski, Romantic Times Magazine

I'll be off doing the happy dance and wallpapering my office with stars.

On behalf of my fellow Divas...

Did you know that 95% of abuse victims are women? Every year four million women are assaulted by their spouses or partners.

Freya's Bower Publishing is hoping to do a small part to break the cycle of abuse.On February 1, DREAMS & DESIRES: A COLLECTION OF ROMANCE AND EROTIC TALES will be available. This anthology features short stories in a variety of romance subgenres from 19 talented authors. The stories range from sweet to sizzling.

Not only did the authors contribute their stories to this anthology, but all the editing and cover art were also donated. All net proceeds - that's 100% of the profit - from the sales of the anthology will go directly to a battered women's shelter in Florida. There have been other anthologies published for charity in the past, but most of those have only donated a portion of their profits. With DREAMS & DESIRES, every penny of profit goes to help women and children in dire circumstances.

Please help make a difference by purchasing a copy of DREAMS & DESIRES. As an added bonus to contributing to such a worthy cause, you'll be rewarded with 19 great short stories by some of today's rising authors.

"The Forest for the Trees" by Jenna Bayley-Burke (sweet; contemporary)
"Song Without Words" by Faith Bicknell-Brown (sweet; contemporary)
"Love @ First Site" by Amanda Brice (sweet; chick lit)
"The Christmas Prize" by Sela Carsen (sweet; contemporary)
"Romance for One" by Rachelle Chase (spicy; chick lit)
"Confessions of a Bombshell Bandit" by Gemma Halliday (sweet; chick lit)
"The Velvet Mask" by Candace Havens (sweet; contemporary)
"Road of Misgivings" by Zinnia Hope (sweet; contemporary)
"To the Core" by Jackie Kessler (tangy; paranormal)
"Taking the Alleys" by Susan Lyons (sweet; contemporary)
"Brushstrokes" by Richelle Mead (spicy; historical paranormal)
"Red's Merry Mischief" by Debbie Mumford (tangy; fantasy)
"Baring It All For Mr. Right" by Rhonda Stapleton (sweet; chick lit)
"The Wedding Policy" by Bebe Thomas (sweet; historical)
"Blood and Feathers" by Emily Veinglory (sizzling; M/M paranormal)
"The Mirror" by Sasha White (sizzling; contemporary)
"The Reluctant Bridesmaid" by Lois Winston (sweet; chick lit)
"The Forge: Jezren Dark Sky" by Shaunna Wolf (tangy; sci-fi)
"Secret Valentines" by Kit Wylde (sweet; contemporary)

DREAMS & DESIRES is available as an eBook for $7.99 (ISBN: 1-934069-36- 1), paperback (ISBN: 1-934069-22- 1) for $19.95, and a hard cover (ISBN:1-934069- 23-X) for $29.95. The paperback and hardcover are available fromBarnes & Noble online.

The books and the eBook are also available through Freya's Bower at www.freyasbower. com. The book is also being sold at Borders and distributed by Ingrams. If your local bookstore doesn't have it, they'll be able to order it for you. Just give them the title and the ISBN number.

Together, we CAN make a difference!