Well, it’s almost here! On Tuesday, Laying Down the Law releases. It’s available at all the usual places, but you can click on the cover to find those links. I hope you’ll love it. I don’t see why you wouldn’t. 🙂

Post a comment today for a chance to win one of my backlisted, downloadable Samhain stories!

Seeking sanctuary could be the hottest mistake she ever made.

The TripleHorn Brand, Book 1

A lifetime ago, Zuri Prescott kicked the dirt off her boots and ditched her small-time small town for the glam city life—and lived to regret it. When she’s framed for a bank job, she lights out for home, seeking refuge with her old high school sweetheart while she figures out her next steps. Only she discovers that the boy she left behind is the last man she should trust.

Sheriff Colt Triplehorn knows trouble when he sees it, especially when it comes in the form of a familiar trespasser, caught naked between an angry bull and her underwear. Sure she’s up to her usual no good, he grants her sanctuary at his ranch—the better to keep an eye on her, and purge her from his system once and for all.

Reconnection is sweet and hot, but the heat can’t hide the truth. When Colt inevitably finds out what Zuri’s running from, it’s too late to put the fire out, and he’s got a career-compromising choice on his hands. Follow the letter of the law, or follow his heart.

Product Warnings: When a sheriff captures the girl who got away, expect revenge so hot it leaves brands on two lonely hearts…

Colt knelt beside her clothing, tucked a finger under her skirt and raised it. “This all you have to wear?”

Light shone through a large jagged tear where the bull’s sharp hooves had ground the navy, summer-weight wool skirt. Zuri’s shoulders slumped.

“Do you have something else to put on?”

She shook her head, and Colt stared for a long moment. Then he dropped the ruined skirt to the ground and picked up the blouse. It was grayed from her time in the floodwaters and smudged by the bull’s abuse. Colt shook his head. He dropped the blouse too, heaved a sigh, then stood and began to unbutton his shirt.

“Where are your shoes, Zuri?” he asked, his voice rough as gravel.

“Guess I lost them,” she said, feeling like her mouth was stuffed with cotton.

“You gonna tell me what’s goin’ on?”

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth because it had started to tremble, but managed a nod, even though she knew she’d wait and see whether she could trust him with all her woes.

“Here,” he said, holding his shirt out for her take.

Only problem was, she’d have to stand and walk out of the water to get it.

Shouldn’t matter that much, anyway, she told herself. Nothing he hadn’t already seen…or tasted and caressed. “Um…I don’t suppose you’d turn around?”

His steely gaze narrowed. “Not a chance.” Read the rest of this entry »

JANE LOVERING TAKES AN ALTERNATIVE LOOK AT VAMPIRES

I’ve always wanted to write about vampires.  Partly because there’s something fascinating in a creature that lives off blood, but also because I’ve always wanted to shift the paradigm slightly.  All my novels feature heroes who are less Alpha and more Beta – men who are the heroine’s best friends or quietly in need of saving themselves, so I wanted to change the received wisdom of vampires as being dominant, controlling beasts.  In my latest novel, Vampire State of Mind, they are still in charge, they are gorgeous and glamorous as vampires always have been, but the vampires I have created are fallible, they are stuck in their old-fashioned ways and sometimes in need of saving by the heroine, as much as they, sometimes, attempt to save her.

I’ve also located them firmly in Britain – these are very British vampires.  They believe in filing and order and frock coats, or at least designer jeans.  They don’t bite, unless it’s in special clubs where that sort of thing is allowed, their demons live on thrills and adrenaline so they lead lives where excitement is more important than regularity – and they don’t fall in love.

Vampire State of Mind is a deliberate attempt to subvert the Vampire Genre by taking some of the power away from the vampires and placing it in the hands of the heroine, in this case a council worker called Jessica Grant, who runs the Human/Otherworld Liaison office, acting as PR for the creatures from the Otherworld and keeping them firmly in their places.  Jess is strong, self-deprecating and too chaotic to be allowed in charge of anything more than an electric pencil-sharpener and a sidekick called Liam.

Here’s the blurb.

Jessica Grant knows vampires only too well.  She runs the York Council tracker programme making sure that Otherworlders are all where they should be, keeps the filing in order and drinks far too much coffee.  To Jess, vampires are annoying and arrogant and far too sexy for their own good, particularly her ex-colleague Sil, who’s now in charge of Otherworld York.

But when a demon turns up and threatens not just Jess but the whole world order, she and Sil are forced to work together, and when Jess turns out to be the key to saving the world it puts a very different slant on their relationship.  The stakes are high.  They are also very, very pointy and Jess isn’t afraid to use them, even on the vampire that she’s rather afraid she’s falling in love with …

For more details go to http://www.choc-lit.co.uk/html/vampire_state_of_mind.html
Or http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-State-Mind-Choc-ebook/dp/B008GGBRU2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346587575&sr=1-1&keywords=vampire+state+of+mind

www.janelovering.co.uk
@janelovering on Twitter

Storytelling, Sarcasm and Steam

Now that I’ve been writing for a few years I’m discovering more and more that definitions are far too fluid to be able to set in stone. What one person considers terribly racy and suggestive barely makes another person yawn. With the recent increased exposure for erotic stories, I’m still thinking about this—what makes one person say that a book had “oh my gawd hawt sex” and the next person simply says “meh”?

Expectations have a lot to do with it. If I hear something is awesome, great, incredible, I’m going to compare to what I’ve already experienced that meets that criteria for me. And then I’m going to make a judgment call. Bottom-line, it still comes back to OUR expectations, and our past experiences. Which means the old axiom of “You can’t please everyone” still remains truth.

So, in a seemingly total change of topic—but not really—what do you think about paranormal stories? I ask because here too there are expectations and past experiences that colour our thoughts. I will admit it: I’m not a vampire fan. I’m also a wimp, and dark, frightening stories put me off. So for many years when people talked about loving a paranormal series, I didn’t pay any further attention. I’d TRIED reading a paranormal. Someone got killed in the first three pages, their soul sucked away to the eternal abyss of pain, and the hero was wiping blood from his mouth and—**shudder**

Okay, let’s think about rainbows and ponies for a while. Better? Me too.

Not that dark books are bad—they can be beautifully written, with exquisite plotting and character development. But they aren’t for ME. And that experience coloured all my thoughts of paranormal. Until one day…

I read a Shelley Laurenson book.

Paranormal? Yes. Well written? Yes. But most important to me, it was funny as spit. I got kicked out of bed for giggling so hard I was shaking the bed and woke my husband. That book changed the way I thought about paranormal series, because while some are dark and full of vamps, some are sheer out fun and full of people I’d like to meet in real life.

Just like the steam level in sexy books can will be judged on what you’ve already read, there are a wide variety of paranormal stories that have different elements. Darkness, sexy alpha males, complex world building. Or…there’s the Takhini Wolves and Granite Lake Wolves, my version of stepping into the ‘other’ side. Shifters with sarcasm and steam. Also powerful Alphas, but they’re more likely to be involved in a bar brawl after shooting moonshine than a bloodletting.

Next Tuesday SILVER MINE releases. If you’re not a huge paranormal fan… (because the darkness scares you? You’re not into weird world rules?) …this is a different kind of book to try.

Who knows? You might find something totally unexpected. You will find sex—although of what heat level, you’ll have to be the judge.

~~**~~

Silver Mine:
 Takhini Wolves, Book 2

If a tree falls in the forest, duck… Read the rest of this entry »

My Stiletto Collection vs. The Doctor…This Could Get Ugly

If you know me, you know my love of a sexy stiletto. I can’t count the numerous heels I own, but last time I attempted, it was around 100. I wore heels during both pregnancies, while I worked all day in the salon and even in high school. I cannot express my love enough for a sassy shoe.

About six months ago I noticed something on my foot…and it hurt. I put off calling the doctor because I just knew what he’d say. I didn’t want to hear that I would have to put my heels away for something more *gasp* practical.

Well, the time has come that I finally sucked it up and went to the doctor. Here’s a little piece of our conversation:

“Mrs. Bennett, great to see you again,” the doctor says as he walks in the door.

“Listen, I know you’re going to tell me I need surgery.” I didn’t even say hello back. “I know you’re going to tell me my heels caused my foot problem and I don’t care. Just schedule the surgery, let’s get it over with so I can get back to my shoes.”

After a moment of silence, he busted out laughing.

“Well,” the doctor said, still grinning. “I’m not going to talk you out of those shoes am I?”

I followed his gaze down to my black and silver stilettos and shook my head. “Nope. If I have to have surgery every few years, then so be it. I refuse to buy ugly shoes.”

He slapped my folder on the counter and smiled. “Well, then, that was easy.”

So, after I set him straight, he made me an appointment with a surgeon. I’ll be going there on Tuesday. I’m sure I’ll have to be as blunt with this new doctor. My other doctor knows how stubborn I am so he wasn’t wasting his time arguing.

I hate to be so stubborn, but there are just some things I will not budge on and my shoe collection is one of them. I only buy heels for special occasions (ie: when my girls were born, when I sell another book, when I have a release, when I hit a milestone, etc). So in my defense, each pair holds a memory.

Okay, that’s pushing it, but I seriously refuse to clear out my arsenal of shoes and switch to something like…tennis shoes! I do own tennis shoes, but they are strictly for workouts. 🙂

So, do you have something you’re just as passionate about? Is there something in your life you won’t budge on? I’ll give a signed copy of my latest Harlequin Desire release WHATEVER THE PRICE to one person who leaves a comment!

I like collecting books of quotes—little inspirational sentences. They’re pick-me-ups—reminders that we’re all on this journey together. I opened one of the quote books sitting on my desk for something I might impart to give you a little inspiration for your day, and this is what I found:

“It’s never too late, in fiction or in life, to revise.” — Nancy Thayer

Now, how profound is that? Do you have a favorite quote or saying?

I’m blogging two places today. Post a comment here and at Wild and Wicked Cowboys. They both count in Hustler Magnets Contest! Have a great day!

“Do-overs”

Thanks to Delilah for letting me guest blog on her site today! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m an author of lesbian romances. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Delilah on two of her Cleis Press anthologies – She Shifters and Girls Who Bite. I’ve also had two novels, Harmony and Worth the Risk, published by Bold Strokes Books, and my third book will be released in January, 2013. It’s called Sea Glass Inn and it’s about second chances.

Have you ever wanted a do-over? A chance to revisit a conversation or career or relationship and maybe get it right this time? My character, Melinda Andrews, tries to do just that. Move, start fresh, gamble on a new life that is more aligned with who she is and what she and her son need. I love Mel. She brings a little bit of crazy and a whole lot of brave with her as she attempts to restore a dilapidated old inn on the Oregon coast. She’s not only my creation, but my inspiration as well, because – whether this is life imitating art or vice versa – I’m beginning a new chapter of my own. Starting over. Redefining myself. Mel bought a house to celebrate her newfound freedom, but I chose to get a new horse instead. (And new vet bills, feed bills, etc. But I’m pretty good at ignoring such practical matters.) So I – being who I am – listed and prioritized the qualities I wanted in a horse. And life – being what it is – tossed my list in the trash and sent Siena and Sunshine my way.

Siena and Sunshine. The Thelma and Louise of the horse world. Best buddies and refugees from a local animal shelter. (Their previous owner apparently wanted his own fresh start, so he simply abandoned his eight horses on a vacant piece of property. Nice, huh?) Frankly, except for the fact that they’re equine and have four legs apiece, they don’t fit the description I made of my perfect horse. For example, they’re not a gelding, aged six to ten years; they’re two mares, aged… well, it’s really not polite to ask. But they are gentle and wary-yet-friendly. Together, we’re going back to basics and beginning again. Trying to erase old pain while never forgetting the important lessons we’ve learned along the way. I’ve discovered that Siena and Sunny aren’t wrong for me because they don’t match my list. I simply wrote the wrong list.

We don’t get true do-overs in life. We can’t go back and change the past. But we can, and should, try to heal old wounds and revisit missed opportunities as we go forward. I suppose the best we can do is move toward the future a little wiser and kinder and more careful to protect ourselves and those closest to us. Siena, Sunshine, and I are definitely bringing some baggage with us on this journey, but who doesn’t? As my character Mel learns: new beginnings require hard work, patched-together dreams, and a determined (albeit shaky) faith in the power of love. New starts with old scars are always difficult. But the rewards? Definitely worth the effort.

website: kariswalsh.com

After a life of wrong turns and lost hope, can true love be more than a bittersweet fantasy?

Melinda Andrews arrives on the Oregon coast with a dream of running the Sea Glass Inn. Still reeling after an unexpected divorce, Mel believes she has missed her chance to find love. All she wants is to make her business a success and regain her independence. She locates the artist who inspired her move so she can commission more paintings for her new inn.

Pamela Whitford runs a gallery in a small seaside town, planning events and supporting other artists while neglecting her own talent. Since being deserted by the love she thought was forever, she refuses to let anyone close enough to hurt her again. But Pam can’t resist the struggling new innkeeper, and she agrees to paint for her even though it means opening herself up to creativity and the vulnerability that goes with it.

Can they learn to trust again and discover a second chance at love?

Contests

Don’t forget! The Hustler Magnets Contest is still ongoing. And in fact, a comment today counts toward the drawing. There will be 5 lucky winners! Also, don’t forget about the Promo Ho Contest. Four Amazon.com gift certificates are at stake!

Sunday Report Card

Remember back in May when I told you I have 18 projects to get out the door by January 2, 2013? That list grew a little bit to 21 projects. Currently, it looks like this:

4 3 full-length novels (2 1 paranormal suspense, 2 BDSM) — Shattered Souls, done—and scheduled to release January 8th!
5 3 novellas (1 Delta Heat, 1 Triple Horn Brand, 1 Delta Heat, 1 Femme Noir, 1 Triple Horn Brand) — Delta Heat: Fournicopia, and Triple Horn Brand: Laying Down the Law done!
4 2 short stories — “Red Dawn”, “Johnny Blaze”, done!
3 2 anthologies I have to edit — Smokin’ Hot Firemen done!
3 novels to extensively edit & expand with my sister (it’s a secret!)
1 novella to extensively edit and publish — Dragon’s Desire, edited! Publishing soon!
1 short story anthology to edit and publish — Licks, done!

My productivity slowed down last month, partly because I spent a week in Louisiana having fun, then had to recuperate from all that fun, but mostly because the pool and crafts (pendant-making) just seemed like so much more fun. I’m paying for it this month. Don’t expect to see me much on Facebook or Twitter, except very late at night, because I have to keep my cave door closed.  I am very, very close to having one novella done, have two novels to kick off at the same time, and an editing project I have to pull together this week. Sound like enough to keep me busy and out of trouble? Sheesh!

Guests

If you’ve ever seen the musical, Oklahoma, there’s a character named “Ado Annie” who gets into trouble with men because she can never say no. Well, meet her twin. I really try to keep guests down to three a week so I have time to have some fun here, but I can’t say no when I have such fabulous guests coming. This week, I’ll have the following ladies. Be sure to drop by and see what they’re all talkin’ about!

9/3 — Karis Walsh
9/5 — Jules Bennett
9/6 — Vivian Arend
9/7 — Jane Lovering

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Look to the left. See the “Subscribe to Blog via Email” notice? I added that in case you’re absent-minded and forget to check out my blog every day for new contests, guests, and events. You won’t be spammed if you subscribe. You’ll just get an email showing you what’s on my blog that day.

The Question

Last week, I asked you what TV show you’d most like to see have a renunion show that had been off the air for at least 10 years. This is kinda related. Have fun!

Which TV show’s cancellation most made you want to howl?