Don’t forget! The Cowboy Lust Blog Tour continues!
Today’s stop is Ramblings from This Chick! ~DD

Less than a week until IF I WERE YOU! I just can’t believe it is finally going to be here. I’ve waited for this book for what feels like a lifetime. I say this because the story was born when Diego, my DH, and I were buying and selling storage units, long before the shows existed.

Oh what an experience that was. Well, DH found a journal in one of the storage units and started reading and from there he was convinced that I had to write a story. And after years of hearing him say this–I finally did.

Looking back, who would have know how buying and selling those units could have influenced my career. I remember the first time we got a until, our house was packed with boxes and we didn’t know what we were doing. All we knew was the furniture was worth money. We took pictures and it sold fast so we had to clean it out. And what did I find? A sex drawer. Oh yes. I did. Can you say GLOVES? There is nothing sexy about cleaning out someone’s sex drawer. You can imagine what might have been in there! I won’t share:) Your imagination might be more fun. In fact, this seems like a good time to share a sexy excerpt to get back to sexy!

EXCERPT:

Rounding the corner, I enter the hallway, and Chris is suddenly there in the narrow passage with me, pressing me against the wall, his powerful thighs framing mine.

My hand goes instinctively to his t-shirt-clad chest. I am immediately aware of the intimacy of the touch, of my body’s reaction to the man who has betrayed me. “Don’t shove me against another wall and try to intimidate me, Chris.”

“I’m not trying to intimidate you. I was protecting you, Sara.” His hands move to my waist, scorching me, and my reaction to the sizzling touch is instant. I cover his hands with mine, trying to control what he does next, but it doesn’t help. Now, my hands are on his hands and his hands are on my body.

“Call it what you want,” I ground out, “but you had no right to do what you did.”

“He had to know he couldn’t manipulate your dream. Money, and my many resources at your disposal, does that.”

His words knock my anger and my breath away, and confusion consumes me. His actions and his words conflict at every turn. “Why would you help me? You said I don’t belong in this world.”

“Because I won’t watch him gobble you up and destroy you.”

I remember his words, and understand now that he wanted me out of this gallery, not this profession. “Because he’s a dark, messed up, arrogant asshole who will play with my mind and use me until there is nothing else left of me I recognize.”

“That’s right.”

“And yet you say you’re worse.”

He stiffens and cuts his gaze, seeming to struggle before fixing me in a turbulent stare. “I am, Sara, which is why you should run as far away from me as you can. And I should step back and let you.”

“Then why aren’t you?” I whisper.

His eyes hold mine, and what I see there, the depth of his desire, overwhelms me. He flattens his palm on my belly and I tremble beneath the touch, and he has to feel it too. “Because,” his voice low, seductive, his hand traveling up the center of my body, “I can’t stop thinking about you, and everything I want to do to you, everywhere I want to touch you.”

His hand presses to the swell between my breasts, and my nipples ache with a wish he would touch them. His boldness ignites something sultry and dark inside me, a side of me that defies the good-girl school teacher who is appalled I haven’t stopped this. I want him. I want him here and now, and any way I can have him.

And when his gaze lowers to my mouth and lingers, I know he is thinking about kissing me and I have never wanted to be kissed so badly in my life.

“Do you taste as good as I think you do?” he asks, but he doesn’t wait for my reply.

Suddenly, his fingers have tunneled into my hair and he’s dragging my mouth to his. I am all soft submission, yielding to the moment, to the man. I melt into him, welcome the hardness of his body pressed to mine. And when his tongue presses past my lips, a long, wicked caress, I taste his hunger, his need. There is possessiveness to his kiss, to his hand on my back, molding me closer. I am lost in the ache that has become my need for this man, this stranger I cannot resist. He says he’s protecting me; he says he’s dangerous. I am conflicted, and sure I should be angry with him, but I am completely incapable and unable of processing why.

Want to win? Just comment for your chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card.

Want to win $75? I draw every week on Saturday through August 24^th. Every time IF I WERE YOU hits 100 new bookshelves I draw for $75. If it hits 500 new shelves that week I draw for $75 5 times. You can win more than once.

The details are here:

http://www.lisareneejones.com/win-75-every-time-if-i-were-you-sells-100/

I look forward to your comments!

Lisa Read the rest of this entry »

At last, I get to announce the lineup for my next Cleis Press collection, Smokin’ Hot Firemen! The book will release summer 2013. Congrats to all the authors and thanks to everyone who submitted. Here is the tentative Table of Contents:

Smoking Stilettos – Rachel Firasek
Saving Charlotte – Sabrina York
Hook Me Up – Adele Dubois
Big Trucks – Lynn Townsend
Lost and Found – Nanette Guadiano
Temperature Rising – Cathryn Fox
Unexpected Detour – Ily Goyanes
Rescue Me – Maggie Wells
Chasing Fire – Elle James
Stoke – Tahira Iqbal
Something’s Burning – Cynthia D’Alba
Fire Hazard – M. Marie
The Fireman’s Rescue – Kalissa Wayne
Falling Ashes – Shoshanna Evers
Fire Extinguisher – Rowan Elizabeth
Her Hero – Catherine Paulssen
Johnny Blaze – Delilah Devlin

The Authors After Dark Grab Bagszzz Contest

Yes, bagszzz, as in three of these pretty nylon totes stuffed full of goodies!
There will be three lucky winners!

What’s in the prize packszzz?
Things too numerous to mention, but which include: author’s water bottles, note pads, nail files, koozies, bookmarks and trading cards, and tons of other kitschy stuff. Stuff you HAVE to have, including my mini bondage kits—okay, so they are office kits with paper clamps and twine to hang your Post-its, but I like the mini-bondage set angle better. And of course there will be books, some signed, some not. Whatever I could grab or was given to me to give away. Three winners will get a very nice stash!

What do you have to do to win?
Post comments on this blog from now until the contest ends! Each time you post counts as another entry!

This contest ends August 30th! 

Here’s a question to start today’s conversation:

If you were offered five acres of property anywhere in the world, where would you want that property to be located? And no, you can’t turn it and sell it for something else. You have to LIVE there or vacation there for the rest of your life!

Little Towns Big Hearts

Not everything is big in Texas, but what’s big…counts. Texas is the second largest state in the United States filled with a rich history and making more everyday.

It’s not the size of the state that matters, though. It’s the people. Small towns are full of people who know everyone and care about them. That’s pretty much any small town in Texas or anywhere else in the world. The people make it big in their hearts.

I modeled Temptation and Hole in the Wall, TX with that thought in mind. And The Ugly Stick Saloon brings  people together. It’s a place where you can make new friends, connect with old ones and get in a barroom fight if the situation demands one. The owner, Audrey Anderson might have been a stripper in her life before the Ugly Stick, but she knows hard times and helps those who need it. She has a habit of collecting strays who are down on their luck or need a friend.

Stop on by at the Ugly Stick Saloon and make a few friends of your own.

This biker chick longs for the open road…until two Kiowa cowboys shift her gears.

Eight months ago, Libby Jones parked her motorcycle in Temptation, Texas, to work at the Ugly Stick Saloon. Since then she’s grown to love the bar’s feeling of family, but now it’s time to hit the road. The longer she stays, the greater the risk her father’s investigators will track her down.

Yet she can’t resist taking the Gray Wolf twins up on their offer to go riding on their ranch. Even though getting involved should be the last thing on her mind.

Ever since Libby landed at the Ugly Stick, Mark and Luke Gray Wolf have been trying to capture her attention. She’s blown them off at every turn, until now. Their plan: expose her to the delights only twins can provide—and persuade her to stay for the long haul.

Libby’s longing for a life she can’t have makes her delay her departure just a heartbeat too long. Her hesitation gives her past time to walk through the saloon door, and all hell to break loose. Now the twins have a fight on their hands to teach her that being free doesn’t mean she can’t let go of her heart.

Warning: Welcome back to the Ugly Stick Saloon. Pull up a chair and set a spell, you’re gonna wanna hear this tale about two hot Kiowa twins and a leather-clad biker chick. Multiple partners, a little BDSM, and one skinny-dippin’ scene so hot it’ll make the pages sizzle!

Caution: Voyeurism and hot, kinky sex.

With ten minutes to cool her heels, Libby slowed and paused at the entrance to backstage. A flash of naked skin snagged her attention and she tipped her head to the side to get a better view of what was going on.

Libby’s heart fluttered at the sight of Audrey perched on a stack of boxes, completely naked except for her bright red cowboy boots. Her legs wrapped around Jackson’s equally naked body as his hips rocked, grinding against hers.

One of Audrey’s arms circled Jackson’s shoulders as she rode him, leaning close to kiss the side of his neck. In her other hand, she held a long leather whip. She glanced across the room, her gaze connecting with Libby’s. Audrey winked and flicked the whip, a loud crack splitting the air.

“Careful with that. You almost got me,” Jackson warned.

“Had I been aiming for you, I wouldn’t have missed. Now, ride me, cowboy,” Audrey demanded.

Libby’s breath hitched and she stepped back, just enough so she couldn’t see. Heat rose from her chest into her cheeks. She’d never spied on another couple having sex. But Jackson and Audrey had looked so very hot and sexy, and the kink factor of the whip made Libby’s blood burn.

Audrey’s moan drew Libby back to the entrance like a sailor to a siren. She couldn’t help watching as the couple engaged in hot and kinky sex.

Jackson shifted, turning himself and Audrey, giving Libby a side view of the action. His long shaft pumped in and out of Audrey’s cunt. The soft slurping sound of a well-lubricated channel interspersed with Audrey’s moans and Jackson’s grunts as he thrust into her.

Libby’s belly tightened. She pressed her hands to still the butterflies, her thighs quivering in anticipation of Jackson’s next thrust.

Audrey leaned up to whisper something into Jackson’s ear. He smiled down at her and then turned to Libby, his eyelids drooping down over his brown-black eyes. “Wanna join us?”

The authors who contributed to the this awesome anthology are all pitching in posts and prizes for this blog tour. You’ll want to visit every site and post a comment for multiple chances to win! Don’t worry if a date has passed, the prizes won’t be awarded until after the last date of the tour! Join us!

August 13:  All I want and more
August 14:  Delighted Reader Book Reviews
August 15:  REVIEW ONLY  Reviews by Molly 
August 16:  Novel Reflections
August 16:  STOP 2  Queen of the Night Reviews
August 17:  Ramblings From This Chick
August 20:  The Menagerie Authors
August 21:  Wickedly Wanton Tales
August 21:  REVIEW ONLY The Brunette Librarian
August 22:  Seductive Musings
August 23:  Love to Read Romance
August 24:  Erzabet’s Enchantments
August 28: Long and Short Reviews

The list of prizes includes:

* Cowboy Bad Boys (digital) by Randi Alexander
* Reader’s Choice of any backlisted ebook by Lissa Matthews
* Reader’s Choice of any backlisted ebook by Charlene Teglia during her stop
* Reader’s Choice of any backlisted ebook by Cari Quinn (x4)
* “I’ll show you my e-reader if you show me yours” T-shirt (Large size) from Kimber Vale
* Reader’s Choice of any backlisted ebook by Delilah Devlin during her stops (x2)
* Signed copies of Cowboy Fever by Delilah Devlin to two winners
* Love in Short Order (digital), a romance by Michael Bracken writing as Rolinda Hay
* Stud (digital), an erotic romance by Michael Bracken writing as Rolinda Hay
Plus the $50 Amazon GC grand prize!

Weird People

My newest series, Miracle Interrupted, is set in the village of Miracle, Wisconsin, with only 629 residents. When I thought of the village, I imagined the people in it would be quirky and eccentric –both tactful ways of saying ‘weird.’

So far I’ve finished two stories and I’m revising a third. I live in a village, but mine is a large one, with a population over 11,000. And beyond my close neighbors and the lady in the liquor department at Piggly Wiggly, I really don’t know people in the area well enough to notice their eccentricities. (Just kidding about the lady in the liquor department.)

Before I started to write the books, I thought I needed to ask people from small towns for ideas for advice. But I’ve discovered that to find quirks, all I need to do is look at my own family and friends.

In fact, sometimes I can just look at the person in my mirror.

Who turns up the volume of their car stereo and dances in the driver’s seat while singing loudly?

Who keeps a secret stash of chocolate in their house?

Who talks to their pets? Who kisses them and calls them sweetheart?

Who drops food on the floor, then picks it up and uses the 3-second rule while popping it into their mouth? (Quickly, before the dog gets it.)

Who has friends who are constantly late? Friends who gossip? Friends who keep dating jerks out of a deep sense of insecurity?

Who knows their liquor store clerk well enough to… No, not me. Really. But the thing I’m getting at is people are odd whether they live in a tiny town, a big city, your house…or your head.

As you can see, I have a lot of weird people in my head.

Any quirks you’d like to add to the list? I’m giving away an e-copy of STARDUST MIRACLE to a commenter.

A miracle is going to happen…

Becky Diedrich is the cheesemaker’s daughter.
The minister’s wife.
The good sister.

What she’s not is her own woman.
What she can’t be is a mother.

And then she catches her husband with another woman.
And she moves in with her sister.
And she starts to see sparkles.

And this is just the beginning…

***

Becky ran across the grass and laughed at her brashness. She wore her tan trench coat – her church coat – over her red negligee. Tonight she felt free. With a sexual appetite and playfulness she hadn’t felt for a long time.

She couldn’t swear that what she planned had never happened in the church, people being what they were. But it had never happened in the church before with her and Jim.

Laughter spilled out of her mouth, and she only stopped because she was breathless from an overload of excitement. The need to experience something more with her husband had been building inside her for a long time. Now it was finally boiling over – leaving her lightheaded and unlike her usual self.

She liked these feelings. Liked this side of her a lot.

When she’d stepped out of the car tonight and looked up at the stars, something happened. Something changed. For so long, she’d been carrying a dark weight around with her. Going through the days and nights trying to say and do all the right things, when inside something had felt all wrong.

She’d lost the joy of life. Not fully living…just going through the motions. At only thirty-six, she’d felt old and dried up.

Now she felt young again. Free.

Jim wouldn’t know what happened to his proper wife.

She reached the church’s back door, using it instead of the front entrance because she didn’t want anyone passing by to see her. Not that there was anything wrong with going to see her husband. But if anyone mentioned her late night visit, her face would probably turn the color of a ripe tomato and give away what they’d done.

She slipped the key into the lock but it turned easily. She stepped inside. Jim must’ve come in this way and forgotten to lock the door behind him. He was always preoccupied with his work and his parishioners.

She admired that. She did. But once in a while, she wanted his mind, plus a few body parts, to be on her.

And not just when her body temperature was right for conception.

She started toward Jim’s office, and her heels clicked on the linoleum floor. Laughing under her breath, she stopped and took them off. She wanted to surprise Jim with a good surprise. No. A wonderful surprise.

His door was closed. Habit, she supposed, since no one was here except him. She heard him speaking. Couldn’t make out the words. Just his voice. Probably saying lines from the sermon he was preparing. Then his voice stopped, and she imagined him frowning at his computer screen while he wrote the next line.

She started to undo the buttons of her coat, then decided it would be sexier to do it inside with him watching. Kind of like a stripper.

Stifling a giggle, she turned the handle and flung open the door.

“Surprise!”

Edie Ramer
http://edieramer.com

Thanks, Delilah, for hosting me on your gorgeous blog.

I brought a friend.

Well, a creation–although by now Daniel and David Ho’omalu and their family feel more like people I met in Hawaii. Their South Kona Coast beach enclave, Nawea Bay, feels like an actual place that I can visit next time we fly to Hawaii for a spring vacation.

These larger-than-life brothers sprang to life on a visit to the Big Island two years ago.

‘Why don’t you write a story set here in Kona?’ my husband asked. He might as well have hit me over the head, so big was the impact of his statement. Wherever I go, I spin stories in my head. This talent has gotten me through many a long car trip, when the three males in my family converse about guy stuff—cars, trucks, guns, etc.

I’d already begun a story on our long drive up to Hawaii Volcanoes Nat’l Park, but I didn’t … oh, this is embarrassing! I didn’t take it seriously. I know, right? I’m a romance writer, how could I NOT take my imaginings seriously? Well, because although I had 4 books published I was still, in my own mind, an amateur.

Then this last year, God gave me two hard shoves toward turning pro. My step-father died, leaving my dear mom alone on her rural property in Central Montana. And my husband lost his sales job to the recession, leaving me the breadwinner in the family. Suddenly my writing became an important part of our family’s support system.

I gave up my favorite activities—shopping, golf, and leisurely lunches with friends. I still made sure to exercise, but when I wasn’t doing that or teaching, I was writing. Without even noticing, I’d turned pro. This is not a pity party, either. I believe God works in his own way to turn us the way we need to go.

Through the long rainy Pacific NW winter, I spun my Hawaiian imaginings into a romance saga. Hawaiian Heroes; Walking in Fire was published in April of this year, and Hawaiian Heroes II; Rolling in the Deep followed July 31^st. Hawaiian Heroes III; Blooming in the Wild will debut in November, and Hawaiian Heroes IV sometime early next year.

Let me tell you, I looked forward to going to Hawaii in my vast imagination every evening and weekend! Lush and beautiful, volcanoes soaring at your back, the surf lapping at your toes, the warm air heavy with the scent of plumeria … the beautiful Hawaiian people enjoying their home. Tourists relaxing in this carefree setting—the perfect milieu for sexy romance.

You can immerse yourself in beautiful Hawaii, too, just by picking up one of my Hawaiian Heroes books. And I promise the series will go on, and be followed by many other red hot romances. Because I am a romance writer … and a pro.

Here’s a taste of Hawaiian Heroes; Rolling in the Deep.

Desire as deep and dark as the sea…danger as close as a heartbeat.

Daniel Ho’omalu’s intimidating physique, tribal tattoos and mane of black braids frighten most women before they get close enough to discover he likes to play rough. Pile on his perilous vocation as one of a secret society of island guardians, and he’s painfully aware he may never find a mate.

One look at Daniel, and Claire Hunter knows she’s found the man of her sensual dreams. Without hesitation she sinks her teeth into the challenge of landing the big Hawaiian in her bed. But while he clearly wants her, he won’t bite back.

Daniel is certain the beautiful haole is too young and innocent to handle his dark sexual needs. Despite their determination to ignore each other, the island casts its spell, and in one explosive night, Daniel learns that Claire is more than a match for him in every way.

When Daniel must leave her side and dive to the depths of the sea to foil a gang of drug smugglers, Claire trusts that their powerful bond will bring her lover back safely to her arms. But his vow of honor to protect his people could be the one thing that breaks her heart.

Warnings: Big, hot, tattooed Hawaiian hero who likes it rough—in bed and on the beach. Going deep takes on a whole new meaning in this tropical heat wave.

“Your little outfit turns me on,” he said. “I’d like to eat you up. Just like a pūpū. Got it?” Read the rest of this entry »