Home Sweet Home

Whew. What an experience.

Yesterday, after six months of searching, negotiating, and paperwork, we finally closed on our new house. It's been a wild ride, and the fun is only just beginning since now we have to clean it, paint most of the rooms, and figure out how to organize all of our stuff and our lives so we can move our daily routine exactly 1.1 miles from our old house to a new town.

The new place has a smaller yard [I have to say goodbye to my giant maple tree :(, the pool :), and all the various an sundry critters and creatures that reside in the mini-jungle I call my back yard right now.] But on the upside all that room we're giving up outside is now inside - I'm gaining a dining room, cabinet and counter space in the kitchen that is to die for, the kids will have a game room, DH has his own office with a built-in desk and I will have my own office [with a door! and it's own private deck!] Maybe in a month or so, when all the dust settles, I can hang my shingle up on my office door and call myself a serious writer again, since I haven't been one during most of this tortuous process.

Things I've learned from this experience:

1. Real estate agents never sleep - ours seemed to be on call 24/7 and available at a moment's notice to do anything and everything associated with finding us a house and helping us buy it.

2. Banks and mortgage brokers can kiss my shiney metal a$$. New rules and regulations, while I can see the merit in some of them, are basically designed to waste time, paper and money. What good does it do to make someone sign a paper saying they promise the money they borrowed from the bank was NOT used to fund terrorist activities? Do they really think the terrorists are going to tell the truth there? Seriously?

3. The term 'broom swept clean' is open to a lot of interpretations. The least of which is 'clean.'

4. The most fun [and scary] part of walking through your new house is finding all the goodies [and baddies] the previous owners left behind. Ours left us champagne in the fridge and a freezer full of ice cream! They also left all the garbage cans full and 10,000 plastic hangers, and a few things we haven't yet identified.

5. The post office does not really understand the concept of forwarding mail. They may have invented it, but they don't really understand it.

All that being said, here's the new place - this is the real estate photo, not one I took myself. Home Sweet Place I Can't Wait to Repaint and Furnish.

Catch you after the holiday weekend. Have a great one and hug your realtor today!

Are you still LOST?

So who all watched the 2 ½ hour LOST series finale last night? I was glued to it…and still remain somewhat confused, but I think I sort of get the mythology.

I won’t go into spoilers. All I’ll say is, I’m glad for happy endings for the major players, I’m glad none of the really annoying characters showed up, like Anna Lucia or Michael and Walt, and most of all I loved the spiritual component of the ending – this huge soul family has all come back together to welcome one of its own into the fold and move on to another plane of existence.

I still don’t get the smoke monster…or the polar bears, but maybe they weren’t as important as everyone thought.

So what’s your take on LOST? Are you glad we were all finally kicked off the island or would you go back if you had the chance?

Signed and sealed

Today I feel like a writer. I haven't really felt like one in a while, because I've had to push writing to the back burner in favor of all the angst and stress that comes with buying and selling a house.

Somehow, in the middle of it all, thought, I didn't manage to write, edit, submit and sell a new novella! Well, Bernadette did.

Today I [she] signed a contract with Liquid Silver Books for the first of a sci-fi series. The novella is called Icarus Rising [my NaNo story] and here's the blurb:

To save a dying race, sociologist Caleb Faulkner will forfeit his humanity. He has volunteered to join with an alien creature in order to take part in an ambitious breeding program designed to spare the dominant race on the planet Icarus from certain extinction.

Dr. Zara Abbott has spent months helping to prepare Caleb for the joining, hiding her feelings for the man who will become the mate to an Icarian female as soon as he receives his symbiotic wings. When the joining proves disastrous, Caleb and his alien symbion can think of only one thing, mating with Zara. After so long preparing to sacrifice Caleb to the Icarians, will she be able to refuse the man who makes her heart take flight?


I have a portion of the next story in the series written - called Icarus Unbound and now I've got to get cracking on that. Off to dust my keyboard and put some fresh ink in the printer.

Stay tuned for more info!

Team Jacob

Since I prefer my doses of teen angst to be few and far between, I have not read the Twilight saga, but I have watched the movies.

Last night I finally got to my Netflix copy of New Moon, the 2nd in the series. I watched it by myself, since no one else in my house can deal with vampires that sparkle in the sunlight.

Mild spoiler alert!

I won't go into a long rant or even a review of the movie or the story. I will only say that there must seriously be something wrong with Bella Swan if she can choose Edward, who is practicalyl invisible except for his red lips and bushy eyebrows, over Jacob who runs around tattooed and shirtless.

I thought it was funny that they reserved Bella's one shocked gasp for the end of the movie when Edward proposes rather than for the scene in which Jacob peels off his shirt to reveal abs that would make a wash board weep with envy. Seriously, I wanted to slap the girl.

While when it comes to vampires, I shall forever remain staunchly in the Angel* camp, I have to say, if forced to choose Team Edward or Team Jacob, it's really a no-brainer.

* Angel: Look under 'real vampires' in the wiktionary, thank you Joss Whedon

Location, location, location

I got a kick out of this picture from I Can Has Cheezeburger for a couple of reasons.

1. Since we've been house hunting [found one, btw - updates will coming] I've seen so many descriptions of properties for sale - and 'bigger on the inside' has acutally shown up once or twice. 'Must be seen!' is another catchphrase I'm skeptical of. Now I'm wondering if all those houses that are 'bigger on the inside' might really be TARDISes. I'll never know.

2. Anyone caught the first episode of the new Dr. Who? I was hugely skeptical about Dr. # 11 played by Matt Smith. He's too young and he's not David Tenant, but I have to admit, he did a good job. I 'm looking forward to more episodes, but I'll always have a soft spot for 'Ten.'

Heard of beefcake?

Well how about some Mushroom Cake??

For my birthday, DH went all out and had a special cake designed for me. I like mushrooms [not the psychedelic kind, mind you] - I especially like mushrooms as decorations, so he ordered a cake that would incorporate mushrooms into the design and here's what he got:

It's a basket of woodland mushrooms complete with a couple of lady bugs, a dragon fly and a small worm. Yum! LOL. This extravaganza is courtesy of Extreme Cakes by Linda which happens to be owned by the Mom of one of DH's friends.

The decorations are marzipan [three pounds worth] and underneath, inside the lattice work basket which you can't see so well in the picture, is a rich dark chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream filing.

Decadent isn't really a strong enough word to describe how it tastes.

Here's another view where you can see some of the basket. The green lady bug is also visible. I ate that first.

In addition to the cake, he also got a plate of specially made Peep-shi...that's Sushi made with marshamallow Peeps. The kids devoured that...

We're supposed to go to my favorite restaurant for dinner, but I'm not sure I'm hungry after sampling the cake after lunch. I may have to stick with a salad, but if I do, I'll try to find one with a better attidude than this one:

TGIP?

I was going to title this post Thank God It's Friday - because man, do I need a Friday. And tomorrow is my birthday, so I'm looking forward to doing a whole lot nuthin' and then going out for a nice dinner.


Then I remembered there's another reason to happy it's April 9th - THE MATCHMAKERS is now available in PRINT!

Visit Samhain to find out how to get your copy!

What I'm listening to...

How cool is this? The audiobook version of The Matchmakers is available today at Audiolark!

I've been listening to The Matchmakers over the course of the past few days and it's a trip to hear someone reading my words. I've always thought reading a book is like watching a movie in my head, and listening to one is the same thing. The best part was, I could 'read' my book while I was doing chores and walking around the house [with the help of my son's iPod.]

I'm always bemoaning the fact that I don't have enough time to sit down and relax and read, but I'm thinking an audio library would allow me to read books while I get everything else done too.

If you've ever thought of trying an audiobook, drop by Audiolark and pick up a copy of The Matchmakers to listen to any time! [If you want to try it out, you can also listen to an excerpt on your computer!]

Cat caption of the week

A riveting review!

First review = Awesome!

Emily of Sensual Reads says:

The story is rich in complex characters and captivating until the very last page. I found myself riveted to Slither’s completely unique plot.

Crash!

That's the sound of my desk top computer dying this weeking.

We had one of those wicked Nor'easter storms on Saturday night. Trees down everywhere [two at the end of the street], branches flying, phone lines down, shingles off the roof and lights flickering. We never actually lost power completely, but with intgermittent brown-outs DH told me I should shut my computer down.

I did, and Sunday morning it couldn't wake back up. Fortunately he was able to pull out the hard drive and retrieve all my data - whew! He loaded everything onto my laptop which is now my one and only computer.

Fortunately I also had recently backed up to a jump drive and a CD so I was covered. Let this be a lesson to you all - back up your drives!! You never know when you're computer will decide it's light's out permanently.

Cat caption of the week

Ready for 2011

For once, I'm way ahead the game.

Yesterday I signed a new contract with Samhain for my paranormal novel Uncross My Heart which will be available in 2011.

Uncross [as I've been calling it] is as near and dear to me as The Matchmakers.

This novel was a real labor of love that introduces characters I was hoping to spend a lot of time with. I hope my readers will too...here's the working blurb:

Uncross My Heart

After more than a century living la vida muerta, Julian Devlin loses his wealth and his hard won place in the vampire hierarchy when his closest ally betrays him by casting a magick spell which restores his humanity. Forced to rely on Zoe Boyd, the quirky, fashion unconscious consignment shop owner who helps him navigate through the human world while he seeks help from a devilish witch to reverse the spell, Julian learns the value of a beating heart and a human soul. When finally faced with the opportunity to reclaim his lost power, he must choose between the cold comfort of immortality and his love for the beautiful woman who risked her life to give him back his death.


Notice how I worked 'la vida muerta' in there? It really wasn't intentional, but now I kind of like it.

Stay tuned for more info on Uncross my Heart!

Slinky, Sexy, Slither

Today's the day!

Slither is available at Ellora's Cave!

You can find it on the homepage or follow this link to purchase and read an excerpt.

The Blurb:

Rihana Daniels has seen a lot in five years working as a psychic for the NYPD, but the murder of a freelance reporter makes her question if she really wants to continue her law enforcement career.

The dark vibe she gets from this case is nothing new, but the main suspect, sexy, enigmatic tattoo artist Heath, leaves her heightened senses burning. She can read him like a book—and she can see his innocence but she can’t prove it. His feral sexual thoughts make her insane with need and her desire for him jeopardizes her job and the investigation.

When she learns the truth about the man who can strip her soul bare with a glance, will she give up everything she knows to flee with him to a safer world? Or will she become a psychic killer in order to destroy a ruthless assassin and put an end to her lover’s exile?

Cat caption of the week

Mea Culpa

Darn but I can't make fun of the weather forecasters. This time they were right.

Are you ready for the snow?

We heard this question all last week - and while I feel the pain of everyone south of us who got caught in 'Snowmaggedon' - it's hard for me to muster any confidence in the weather report when here in upper New Jersey, we didn't see a single dag-burn flake of the white stuff this past weekend.

I saw the weather maps and it looked ominous - a huge cloud of white crawled across the United States headed straight for us like a tidal wave.

Then nothing.

Today, it's gorgeous outside. I have to say, this is one the nicest days of February I ever remember. Usually Valentine's month is horrid, cold, wet, icy, frigid and mean. Today I went out to clean off my car windows [my windshield wiper fluid dispenser is broken] wearing only a sweatshirt. [Well, in addition to pants, a shirt, socks, sneakers and underwear, but you get the picture.] I also took a short walk from the corner and enjoyed a bit of fresh air in preparation for supposedly being snowed in for the better part of the next two days.

The storm that's coming is bigger, badder and more of everything 'snowpocalypsey.' Schools north of us are already closed for tomorrow, companies are putting employees on alert that they may be getting the day off too.

I'm ready. But I just want to say beforehand, that if we don't get any snow this time - I'm going to ridicule the weather services unmercifully until they cry.

Bring it on, Mother Nature. I'm ready.

Romantic sensibilities take a hit

Last night I rented 500 Days of Summer, the 'romantic comedy' with Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt that's been getting rave reviews.

It looked innocuous enough and I'd heard from several people that it was cute and watchable. Any time the words 'romantic' and 'comedy' are used I'm pretty much hooked.

Too keep up the fishing anologies, this time was a bait and switch - not as severe as Nights in Rodanthe or Bridge to Terabithia [both of those movies should have come with disclaimers for the sensitive at heart] but nevertheless, this movie left the romance writer in me asking WTF?

SPOILER ALERT!! Don't read further if you don't want to know...

In all fairness the ominous voice of the narrator in this tale does warn the audience that this is not a love story. That should have been my first clue, but I'm a cock-eyed optimist and I kept hoping he was lying. Turns out he was spot on. The story follows the ill-fated relationship of Summer and Tom, two eccentric clunkies who work for a greeting card company.

The characters are personable enough - Tom, the optimist, looking for true love believes he's found it in the quirky, sometimes spacey Summer. She's more jaded as the product of her parents' divorce [cue the wambulance here] and she does not believe in love. It's all a fantasy according to her. She likes to fool around but doesn't make committments. Her capricious nature puts Tom on an emotional roller coaster that gets him bumped from the Valentine's Day department at work to Sympathy and Grief because he's a walking wound when Summer leaves not only him but her job. [It's never clear when or why she quits].

The story is told in a non-linear fashion [I hate that, btw] even in time travel stories, I like things to progress in order. So we see the end before we really understand the beginning. This does not help the story.

I won't give away the ending, which makes what I consider a lame attempt to assure the audience that everything will be all right in the end and that our following this disappointing relationship hasn't been for nothing since we've learned something [as Tom does] about the human condition and about love in general.

I learned here's another movie that I'm glad I didn't plunk down $10.00 for at the theater. While it was good for a chuckle or two...romantic it was not. Rating: WTF.

Forecast for February: Steamy

I got my release date for my upcoming Ellora's Cave novel - Slither!

Mark your calendars for February 17th and crank the AC because things are going to get hot!

Here's that excerpt I promised - and for more - drop by the Ellora's Cave chat loop this Sunday for some more sneak peeks from Slither!

****

The bedroom was just dark enough to be sultry. The California king-sized bed bore sheets of gunmetal satin which made it look like a block of iron sitting in the middle of the room. He adjusted the lighting to give the place a warm glow from overhead spotlights set around the perimeter of the ceiling. Behind the bed was a mirror and at its foot, a black leather bench. Her missing scarf lay across the end of the mattress.

She blushed. “I accidentally left that at your shop.”

“It was no accident.”

She resented the implication. She’d been in such a hurry to escape after he’d brought her to a shuddering orgasm that she’d barely had both her shoes on when she stumbled out the back door. Acute embarrassment made her shiver.

She jumped at the feel of his fingers on her shoulders, but she managed to keep herself calm while he slid her jacket off.

He placed the garment on a high backed chair in the corner of the room and returned to walk around her in a circle. “You stand like you have a stick up your ass.”

She burst into surprised laughter. She’d expected sexual innuendo, or even an open invitation to fuck. “I knew you were charming, but wow. Way to knock a girl’s socks off.”

He faced her, wry amusement lighting his features. “It’s not just your socks I want off. How do you manage to get through life being so uptight, Miss Daniels?” He grazed her cheek with a forefinger and the feathery touch sent a cascade of awareness down her body. Next he rested his hands on her shoulders and pressed down a bit. “Drop your arms. Breathe deep. If you lock up all your muscles, you’ll impede blood flow to your brain and you’ll pass out.”

“Is this a yoga class? Because I forgot my mat.”

“Do you suffer from dizzy spells? Do you get lightheaded often?”

She did. Gramma Essie always told her that was her connection to the quaking. It drained her energy.

“No,” he said, not in response to his own question, but to her unspoken thoughts. “It’s because you clench up everything all the time. You’re suffocating yourself with your own nervous tension.”

“And how are you going to relax me?” Her impertinent question prompted him to slip his fingers into the collar of her blouse. One by one he opened the buttons, making sure to brush against her bare skin as he did so. “Oh.”

After he flicked open the last button, he spread the shirt and pushed it off her shoulders, exposing her bra. She figured he would go for that next. God, she wanted him to, but with her jaw clenched so tightly to keep from moaning aloud, she couldn’t tell him.

Maddeningly, he ignored her breasts and instead ran his hands down her abdomen to the fly of her jeans. He worked quickly to open the button and zipper and then eased the stiff denim down over her hips and thighs. She arched her back instinctively, but refused to make a sound. He helped her slip her shoes off and step out of the jeans. He squeezed her ass before stripping off her panties, and she stifled a groan. This had already gone too far. Why couldn’t he simply paint on her hand or her arm? Why did she have to be so exposed and so vulnerable to him?

She squeezed her eyes shut when he dropped a kiss on her shoulder and her knees threatened to buckle when he pulled her shirt off and dropped it on the floor. Now she wore only her bra, and he made quick work of that, opening the fastening in the back with expert fingers.

At the foot of the bed, he snagged her scarf and returned to her side. For a moment she worried that he planned to tie her up and she tensed even further. A stab of fear wormed its way through her lower belly and he must have felt it because he grunted.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. “I’d love to tie you up, but I won’t.” He offered her the scarf. “Cover your eyes with this. I don’t want you to watch me work. I’d rather you be surprised.” The sleek watered silk felt like heaven against her sensitive skin, but fear of losing control made her hesitate. “You can remove it any time. It’s about trust. If you trust me not to take advantage of your not being able to see, I’ll trust you not to remove the blindfold.”

She pursed her lips and considered the offer. Why not?

Is it hot in here?

Or is it just me?

I got the cover art for my upcoming Ellora's Cave release, Slither, and I've been a little warm ever since.

Here's the blurb:

Rihana Daniels has seen a lot in five years working as a psychic for the NYPD, but the murder of freelance reporter Tanesha Wain makes her question if she really wants to continue her law enforcement career.

The dark vibe she gets from this case is nothing new, but the main suspect, sexy, enigmatic tattoo artist Heath Gyland, leaves her heightened senses burning. She can read him like a book – and she can see his innocence but she can’t prove it. His feral sexual thoughts make her insane with need and her desire for him jeopardizes her job and the investigation.

When she learns the truth about the man who can strip her soul bare with a glance, will she give up everything she knows to flee with him to a safer world or will she become a psychic killer in order to destroy a ruthless assassin and put an end to her lover’s exile?

This one is dedicated to all the fans of SKIN who asked for Heath's story. I'll update you with a release date as soon as I can.