Thanks so much to Delilah for hosting me!

Wednesday, my fifth book comes out! It’s a little surreal to think that in my first year of being a published writer, I have five actual books people can go out and read. Last week, my twin brother actually emailed me to say that while walking around on the base he’s stationed at, he saw a woman reading my novel Under His Skin. It’s crazy to me to think that there are people out there who are reading and enjoying my books! Sorry for my thinly veiled excitement, I’ve been bouncing in my chair for a month now.

Part of that excitement is that Bound with Pearls releases in just a few days!  I might be counting down the hours and minutes until I can flip through the digital pages of this book. It’s one of those I never thought I’d write and now that it’s done and about to be out there, just makes me all the more excited about it.

As the cover and blurb suggest, this book lives on the kinkier side of things. The heroine and hero have a decidedly Dominant/submissive relationship. Daniel takes the alpha role a step farther in the bedroom, which is exactly what Christine is looking for in her man. Through the story, they discover who they are as a Dominant and submissive, but also who they are as individuals away from the kink. I wanted to write about real people, who just happen to be a little, or a lot, kinky.

I can hear you now: So what do pearls have to do with whips and chains and all that scary stuff?

The art department at Ellora’s Cave really did a fantastic job with this book cover. Can I just gush a moment about it? I love the contrast between the beautiful, classic pearls and the black leather cuffs and whip. It’s such a visual statement about the character’s relationship.

I’ve always loved pearls. I think it has something to do with that old country song with the line, “You wore blue jeans with your pearls/That’s when I knew you were my kind of girl.” My fascination with this gemstone has grown the older I’ve become. While I still wear them with jeans and a t-shirt, I appreciate them in a more classic kind of style. I love the retro, housewife image of a woman with her full skirt and a string of pearls. I might be guilty of owning several such strands. In varying colors and lengths.

Do you see a fascination here? Besides simply looking beautiful, there’s a lot of neat history behind pearls, such as…

Did you know pearls are the only gem that’s made by a living creature? Okay, so we can debate how a live an oyster or a mussel is, but it fits the basic parameters. There’s no other precious stone that’s made by something. Sure we can make some synthetically now, but not like the pearl.

Pearls take their coloration from the inside shell of the creature they’re “grown” inside. They can be white, gold, purple or black, all depending on the color of the shell!

Some of the earliest jewelry we’ve found, dating back to 520 BC, is made from pearls.

There are several historical occurrences of entire military campaigns being funded by selling a few pearl earrings. They’ve been that highly valued through history!

I could go on, but you get the gist. Pearls are diverse. They’re a hardy gemstone, and they’ve stood the test of time. They’re beautiful, classic and more than a little unique. I mean, no two are the same. They’re as individual as your fingerprint.

I’d like to think that the characters in Bound with Pearls emulate some of those characteristics. Their kinky lifestyle can be beautiful or hard, they’re both unique individuals from pasts that are diverse and complicated, and they reflect the colors of their history. I think pearls are the perfect symbol for them. And maybe their future?

You can purchase Bound with Pearls and see how exact my description of them is on December 12^th, but I’m going to give one commenter a copy of the book! Just tell me what your favorite gemstone is and why!

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The Author

It can never be said that Sidney Bristol has had a ‘normal’ life.  She is a recovering roller derby queen, former missionary, and tattoo addict. She grew up in a motor-home on the US highways (with an occasional jaunt into Canada and Mexico), traveling the rodeo circuit with her parents. Sidney has lived abroad in both Russia and Thailand, working with children and teenagers. She now lives in Texas where she splits her time between a job she loves, writing, reading and belly dancing.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Bound with Pearls, purchase December 12^th from Ellora’s Cave!

The last thing Christine wants to do is another favor for her sister, but Lucy always gets what she wants. This time it’s Chris playing sub to a demanding Dom. Their relationship begins with a power exchange and progresses to time spent between the sheets. Now emotions are getting complicated and the Dom isn’t just a hunky guy in black.

Daniel’s expectations are turned upside down when he meets Chris. She’s more than a well-trained submissive. She’s a woman with a body he wants to memorize. He’s willing to spend as much time as it takes to learn her, because she might be his match and his muse. He’ll make her come so hard he’s imprinted on every inch, and then he’ll offer her the most precious thing he can, himself.

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Excerpt

Christine’s mouth closed with a snap. Her jaw hurt from clenching. Her hands ached from gripping her wrists. Blinking rapidly, she looked at the Dom’s broad back. He was getting ready to leave.

She’d failed, completely blown it, and he was right. Her attitude sucked. This wasn’t like her. She’d hit a low point and didn’t know how to dig herself out of this one.

Pinpricks of pain stabbing the backs of her eyes heralded tears. Screwing things up seemed to be her specialty today, from the reports at work to forgetting her entry fee for the charity race, and now it was going to cost her. Lucy wouldn’t give her the pearls when she found out the Dom had left, rightfully disgusted with her.

The muscles in her chest constricted until she was panting for breath. Her vision blurred with tears she had to dash away.

“Wait,” she said, her voice sounding strained and too high to her own ears.

The Dom glanced over his shoulder, unmoved. It shouldn’t get her off, but the idea of a man with such control was a turn-on. She’d been ready for someone big and scary or maybe on the scrawny side with a penchant for pain. Finding him a fairly normal guy unsettled her. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Christmas in a few weeks, and that means one I can justify indulging in my favorite treat. I love to walk the stores at this time of year. The presentation of the chocolates intrigues me.  The colors and shapes, the selection – just lovely!  It’s while I was studying the heaped counters that I decided to devote this blog to fun facts on chocolate.

And as none of us are going to stop eating it – we might as well enjoy it!

1. Chocolate is healthy for you – it’s made from plants and contains many similar health benefits as dark green vegetables. Chocolate contains flavonoids, which act as antioxidants to protect the body from free radical damage.  A small bar of dark chocolate a day will help to reduce your blood pressure and has proven to lower your bad cholesterol by up to 10%.
2. Chocolate contains copper, iron, zinc and magnesium – nutrients that are essential to the body.
3. Chocolate has long been considered an aphrodisiac. It’s not, but it does contain a chemical, called phenylethylamine, which is the same chemical the brain produces naturally when you’re in love.  So only enjoy with someone you want to be in love with – at least temporarily.
4. Chocolate contains serotonin, which acts as a natural anti-depressant – so it’s actually good to eat when you’re feeling down.
5. Chocolate stimulates production of endorphins, which helps you feel happy.
6. Chocolate contains other elements like caffeine, and theobromine, which act as stimulants – so it’s good to take when you’re tired as a quick pick up.
7. In the US, almost three quarters of the consumers choose milk chocolate over other varieties.
8. In 2000, the Italians created the largest chocolate bar coming in at a whopping 5,000 pounds.  The Armenians broke that record in 2010, producing a chocolate bar that weighed 4410 kilos (9702 lbs).
9. The popular belief that chocolate causes acne has been proven to be inaccurate.
10. When making the Hitchcock film, Psycho, they used chocolate syrup to represent blood in the famous shower scene.
11. The world consumes close to 600,000 tons of cocoa beans a year. Most of these beans come from West Africa. It takes close to 400 of these beans to make 1 pound a chocolate a year.
12. The chocolate beans come from a tree species carrying the genus name of Theobroma – which means Food of the Gods.
13. The chocolate industry coaxes over $20 billion a year from consumers.
14. An average American will eat about 10-12 lbs of chocolate per year.
15. The Swiss were reputed to be the heaviest consumers of chocolate each year, consuming close to 21 pounds per person per year.  Not to worry, they have one the lowest heart failure rates and obesity issues.  However, the Swedish have just moved into the top spot – consuming close to 30 pounds per person per year.  I have no idea how their health issues are!
16. Chocolate melts in your mouth, because it’s made with cocoa butter, which has a melting point lower than the average temperature of the human body.
17. It’s been proven that allowing chocolate to melt in your mouth produces brain and heart rate activity that’s similar to – and even stronger than – the effects produced when kissing someone passionately
18. One chocolate chip, should give any adult enough energy to walk 150 feet. Imagine what that one chocolate chip cookie could do for you.
19. American chocolate manufacturers use around 1.5 billion pounds of milk.
20. The first chocolate cake has been traced back to 1674.
21. Hersey’s is the oldest and largest chocolate company in the US.  However, Cadbury is the most popular in the UK.
22. The snicker bar was named after a pet horse belonging to Frank and Ethel Mars.  It first came on the market in 1929.
23. And finally, who said money doesn’t grow on trees, cocoa beans were used as a currency back in the days of the Aztecs and Mayans.

Besides, I’m celebrating the release of Garden of Sorrow, book 4 in my Psychic Vision series this week – with my favorite treat, a big box of chocolates!

Alexis Gordon has spent the last year trying to get over the loss of her sister. Then she goes to work on a normal day…and reality as she knows it…disappears.

Detective Kevin Sutherland, armed with his own psychic abilities, honed by his friend Stefan Kronos, a talented psychic artist and law enforcement consultant. But Kevin has never seen anything like this case – a killer with a personal vendetta to stop Alexis from finding out more about him …and his long dead victims.

The killer can be stopped. He must be stopped. But he’s planning on surviving…even after death.

So how do you indulge? On occasion – and yes, every day could be considered an occasion in my house. Only on big holidays like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day? To celebrate? To wallow? Tell me, what role does chocolate play in your life?

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BIO

Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She’s best known for her Psychic Visions series. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres.  To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series . All her books are available in print format as well.

To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at http://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author

Books by Dale Mayer

Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday’s Child
Hide’n Go Seek
Maddy’s Floor
Garden of Sorrow – Out December 1, 2012

Single Title Romantic Suspense/thrillers
Touched by Death – out now!

Novellas
It’s a Dog’s Life- romantic comedy

Young Adult Books
In Cassie’s Corner
Dangerous Designs – Book I
Deadly Designs – Book 2 – out now!
Vampire in Denial – Book I of Blood Ties
Vampire in Distress – Book 2!
Gem Stone Mystery Series- out now!

Non-Fiction Books
Career Essentials: The Resume
Career Essentials: The Cover Letter
Career Essentials: The Interview
Career Essentials: 3 in 1

New Holiday Release and Book Giveaway

Thanks, Delilah! It’s a pleasure guest blogging with you. I love this site, and I really enjoy chatting with all the readers. At our house, we celebrate Christmas. Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving, the kids are already begging us to get out and chop down a tree. When we remind them that a live tree needs to last until January 6, and we can’t cut one down for another couple of weeks, they start asking to get down the far-too-many boxes of holiday decorations from above the garage.

Last year, to keep this annual pester fest from spoiling the weeks between Thanksgiving and Tree Cutting Day, I came up with a plan. I bought three plastic storage bins and wrote each of their names on one. Then I took down all the boxes of decorations and chose a few things that I knew each of them would like. Placing them in their respective bins, I added suction cup hangers and non-paint removing double-stick tape.

They loved it! They first had to clean their rooms, of course, but surprisingly I didn’t hear the usual whining about that. Then they each spent hours decorated their rooms like tiny little Martha Stewarts, and I even found some short strings of lights for them to frame their window with.

It’s a lot more relaxed here, now that the decorating pressure is off, and I have time to do some writing. I’m part way through the second book in the Cowboy Jackpot series, which will take place on Valentine’s Day. But today, I’m happy to share the blurb, cover art, and an excerpt from Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas. I hope you enjoy it!

Here’s the blurb: A lucky first kiss in front of a Las Vegas slot machine pays off big for bull rider Boone Hancock and New York college student Gigi Colberg-Staub. During the day they spend together as VIP guests of the casino, an intense attraction develops. Throughout the night they share in the big bed of the comped suite, hot, sensual moves ignite wild climaxes.

When Gigi receives a miscommunication, she believes Boone thinks of her as one-night buckle bunny. She confronts him, but Boone convinces himself it’s best for both of them if she goes on believing that, and he lets her walk out of his life. When he realizes his mistake, and then sees the sacrifice Gigi made for him, is it too late to win her back?

Running her hands slowly up his arms, Gigi sighed. “I want to fool around.”

Boone tipped his head back and laughed like a kid. “You’re the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.” Against the backdrop of the suite’s windows, he reminded her of a package all wrapped in lights.

His hands slid to her butt and he tugged her up.

Holding on to his shoulders, Gieselle balanced herself and wrapped her legs around him. She loved it when he carried her.

“You don’t have to ask this cowboy more than once.” He strode to the bedroom, bent over the bed, and laid her back on it. Lit only by the lights of the strip, the room wrapped around them, romantic and cozy.

Propping his elbows at her side, his face hovered inches from hers, his breath warm on her skin. “Baby, I’ve got plans for you.”

A hot shiver skittered through her. “Plans?”

“Mm hm.” His eyes darkened and his breath came faster. “

She unbuttoned one button of his shirt. “What kind of plans?”

He reached behind his back, tugged off her shoe, and tossed it. “Wicked ones.”

Flicking open another button, she asked, “Hot plans?”

“Yeah. And sticky.” He took her other shoe and threw it, too.

Opening the rest of his buttons, her mouth watered for a lick of his nice pecs. “God, you’re sexy.”

“Baby.” It came out on a growl and he ripped off his cowboy hat and threw it onto a chair. “You’re making me crazy.”

She tugged his shirttails from his jeans. “I want to make you naked.”

With incredible speed, he removed his shirt and leaned back over her. “Your turn.” He slid his hands from her knees down her thighs, his fingers tracing the elastic of her panties around her hips.

The rough calluses on his warm hands rattled lusty heat along her skin and down to her pussy.

Boone gathered her dress under her butt and sat her up, pulling it from under her and up over her head.

He froze, his eyes on her see-through lavender bra. “Oh, jeez.”

His stare puckered her nipples and tingled chills across her breasts. Gieselle laced her fingers through his hat hair, releasing the blond mop. The softness on her fingers tugged at her heart. A rugged cowboy with the sweet personality of a gentleman.

Boone’s mouth covered hers as he laid her back on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her, holding on tight. His big prize buckle chilled her belly.

She traced his lips with her tongue and he dove in, his tongue on hers, on her cheeks, tickling the roof of her mouth.

His overpowering strength did fuzzy things to her brain and wild, jittery things to her core. Her hips made tiny circles, cradling his hard shaft through his jeans.

“Gigi.” He whispered against her lips as his hips took up the rhythm of hers.

She scraped her nails lightly down his back. “Boone?”

“When you do that…” His mouth pressed hard and hot on her neck, his teeth nipping, his tongue tracing patterns. Slowly he eased his body lower, dragging his mouth along her skin, tasting as he went.

She closed her eyes and tipped her head back, thrusting her breasts closer to him as desire swirled and puddled low in her belly.

His mouth traced the line of her bra across one breast, then the other. “You’re so hot. Your skin is burning my lips.”

“Don’t stop.” Her blood raced through her like solar flares.

“No, ma’am.”

********

I’d love to hear what your favorite part of the holidays is. Is it decorating? Baking? Cooking? Or shopping? I’m giving away an ecopy of one of my backlist books to one lucky commenter.

Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas is available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon, and in paperback at Createspace and Amazon.

Randi
Randi “Rode Hard and Put Up Satisfied”
RandiAlexander.com
-Turn Up the Heat, Chase and Seduction, and Her Cowboy Stud are available at The Wild Rose Press and Amazon
-Cowboy Bad Boys is available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon and in paperback from Createspace and at Amazon
-Cowboy Lust is available in paperback and Kindle format at Amazon

Odd Man Out

The holiday season is here, and at Casa Andrews that means food, frolic, and, most of all, family.  This Christmas we’ll be setting a table for nineteen – and I couldn’t be more excited.  To me, the holidays are always richer and even the food tastes better when there are swarms of loved ones making the days merry (and noisy) and bright.

Ah, family, the people who love you even when they think you’re crazy.  Take my sister and me.  She’s a nester – hearth and home the focus of all her energy – and I’m a nomad, always anticipating my next shiny new adventure.  She thinks I’m nuts because I’d rather take a trip to Turkey than make a down payment on a nice little house somewhere.  We have the same source material and grew up in the same house, but somehow we always seem to be coming at life from opposite directions. 

Do you ever look at your family and think that one of you just has to be a changeling?

That’s exactly how Mia, the heroine of my new release Finder’s Keeper, feels about her family.  She’s a scientist, dominated by logic and surrounded by people she loves who live their lives by superstition and emotion.  She can’t seem to figure out how she fits in, until she meets Chase, a sexy psychic who somehow manages to act as her bridge to her family, in spite of the fact that he’s been avoiding everything related to family attachments ever since he lost his own.

Who knew a pretend relationship was just what these two needed to find out where they really fit is each other arms?  (Pause for schmaltzy sigh. Awwww.) 

Love isn’t a science. It’s pure chemistry.

Karmic Consultants, Book 6

True love? For neuroscientist Dr. Mia Corregianni, it’s just an unproven hypothesis. But when she loses the heirloom watch her family believes is enchanted with a potent love spell, she fights superstition with superstition by hiring a psychic finder to track it down.

Chase Hunter is a human compass, homing in on whatever the seeker wants most—that is, when he isn’t surfing or actively avoiding anything resembling a real human attachment. Such has been his life since an accident took his family.

Unfortunately, Mia’s case isn’t a simple insta-Find. The catch? To disguise his real mission from her romance-crazy family, he has to pretend to be her boyfriend. He could deal with that if her complicated emotions weren’t blocking his abilities—or if her innermost desires weren’t walloping him upside the head every time he opens himself to his gift.

As the case wears on, their fake romance begins to feel all too real. Scary stuff for a man who’s reluctant to let himself live again. And a woman who doesn’t believe in magic…or love.

Warning: This book contains meddling grandmothers, magic watches, and a surfer with a body so hot it can teach any scientist the true meaning of chemistry.

Now available from Samhain, Kindle, & Nook.

Bio: An Alaskan girl born and raised, Vivi Andrews still lives in the frozen north when she isn’t indulging her travel addiction.  The award-winning author of sixteen paranormal romance novels and novellas including the popular Serengeti Shifter series, she is currently hard at work on her next supernatural happily-ever-after.  Learn more about Vivi and her books at http://www.viviandrews.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viviandrews
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ViviAndrews

Digital Dreams

Dreams come to us in different shapes and ways. Sometimes they’re movies in our minds while we sleep. Something they’re things we want either in our head or heart. Sometimes we come up with them on our own, or they may show themselves after they’ve become firmly rooted as a result of someone else.

In P.S. I Love You (a Gerard Butler flick, based on a book), the dream was the last kind. A woman thought she was living her dream with the man she loved at her side. Then he got sick and died. She decided she was finished dreaming and allowed herself to dig a deeper and deeper rut of grief until she received a letter.

Unlike other letters, this was a letter her dream wrote before passing away, and in the letter he told her of his dream. He asked her to move on, to embrace life again. When she did, she discovered a new dream.

In my Christmas story, Her Miracle Man, I did something similar. Instead of a spouse, a sister sent the possibility of a new dream. Instead of letters, the dream came digitally on DVDs.

What dreams have you had come true? Were they expected or planned? Were they a surprise even to you? What do you think your life would be like without them?

Her Miracle Man is Nikki’s 10th book. It released November 27th from Samhain Publishing. Here’s the blurb:

Children’s hospital administrator Ryland Davids was attracted to event planner Jennalyn James the moment he saw her. He thought there would be plenty of time to get to know her—until her younger sister, Sabrina, was admitted with complications from traumatic brain injury.

Sabrina’s bright courage broke through Ryland’s wall of professional distance, but once she drew her last breath, Jennalyn left the hospital and never returned. Though he understands her need for distance, there’s a hole in his heart that won’t heal. And a last wish from Sabrina he’s honor-bound to deliver.

When Jennalyn comes face to face with Ryland at a charity event, the pain comes rushing back, threatening to shatter her everything’s-fine façade. It doesn’t help that the lump in her throat is mostly her heart, leaping in response to his touch.

Despite her reluctance to return to the scene of her grief, she fulfills Sabrina’s final request to plan a series of Christmas events for the kids. Over the course of A Month of Miracles, Ryland and Jennalyn discover there’s the light of hope at the end of grief’s dark tunnel. But it may not be enough to heal her broken heart.

Buy your now! Samhain Publishing | Amazon – Kindle | Barnes & Noble – Nook

Being the Boss of the Voices in Your Head

There’s always a story in my head waiting to be let out. Some start with a single line or idea, and those are the stories that I tend to figure out as I go along. I’m pantster who became a plotter after years of doing National Novel Writing Month and being frustrated when I inevitably hit a block at about 30k words. Having an outline to follow allows me to make it past that block, because if I’m stuck on one scene I can skip it and move on to the next. It also helps me to plan my daily word count and better gauge how long it will take me to finish a first draft.

But it doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes a scene or a particular character will get stuck in my head. Patience, the heroine of Fire in the Blood, was like that. Once she popped into my head she refused to leave. That was a problem, because her book wasn’t next on my schedule. She may be named Patience, but she really doesn’t have any to speak of. She wanted me to tell her story, and she had it all planned out from beginning to end. Patience wasn’t leaving until I wrote Fire in the Blood.

I tried ignoring her. I tried sticking to my schedule and forging ahead with the book I was supposed to be working on. I wanted to be the boss of the voices in my head, and I was losing that battle. So I tried a new tactic—I gave in. But only a little. I gave her two weeks, and then I switched to the book I was scheduled to write. It got the urge to work on her book out of my system and it allowed me to get back on track. Once I finished that book (Poison in the Blood, which will be out from Samhain next year), I returned to Patience’s story and finished it up.

The process taught me that sometimes it’s okay to give in to your inner voices. Plot bunny bothering you? Maybe you should chase it—but just for a bit. We all go a little mad sometimes. Writing the idea down can stop that plot bunny from stalking you, and it might even learn a little patience.

Patience Roberts is the last summoner standing between magiciankind and certain demon invasion. After banishing two or three demons a day for too long, gods know she’d like nothing better than a little down time with her number one distraction—Faust.

But with vampires, hunters and assassins lined up to take her out, who has the time? Still, she has to admit her resistance to the amorous faerie is wearing thin. Not that she’ll ever let on—after all, faeries are notorious for their short romantic attention spans.

Faust, a Shadowspawn faerie, watched as his outcast clan dwindled to nothing. Determined to hold on to the woman he loves, he’ll do whatever it takes to protect Patience. And one day build a life with her.

When an old demon enemy punches through the barrier between the worlds, Patience must draw on every ounce of her reputation as a cast-iron bitch to temporarily banish him. To get rid of him for good, she’ll have to sacrifice one too many pieces of her soul to leave room for love…

Warning: Contains a hero and heroine so hot they’re literally on fire, naughty faerie sex, post-coital cuteness, angsty magician drama, and yet more gratuitous violence against vampires, demons, and innocent furniture.

Fire in the Blood is available now from Samhain, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. You can find out more about Robyn’s writing at her website, Facebook page, or Twitter.

Who Shot J. R.? or What Happened to Aron?

When I heard Larry Hagman had died a few days ago, I felt a sense of loss. It was as if I heard of the passing of a friend. And in a way it was. Larry Hagman played J. R. Ewing (John Ross Ewing, Sr.) on the television show, “Dallas.” I was born in 1980 and if I had been born a boy, my name would have been John Ross. My mother was completely enamored with the show DALLAS. I guess I should be grateful my name isn’t Sue Ellen or Miss Ellie.

Mom’s penchant to watch the show about Texas cowboys and free-flowing oil may be the reason she married a Texan nine years later and we moved, lock, stock and barrel, from Louisiana to the Texas Hill County. I grew up hearing that tune—the theme from Dallas—and it sorta resounds in my blood—TADAH—TADAH—DUM DUM DUM DUM. . . well, it doesn’t translate well here, but I have attached a you-tube video to remind you of how catchy it was.

One of the things that I grew up hearing about was some of the wild twists that the writers of Dallas would pull on its viewing audience. One of those was when they killed off one of the more popular characters—perhaps the most popular—Bobby Ewing. America went into a complete uproar and the producers listened and when the first episode of the next season emerged, we were all partly pacified and partly horrified to find out that the entire season before had been a dream.

But the biggest, most successful stunt they ever pulled on Dallas was the cliffhanger—“WHO SHOT J. R?” The 1980 season ended with the attempted murder of J. R. Ewing, being shot twice by an unseen assailant. Larry Hagman had started out as a secondary character, but he ended being the indisputable star. From the episode that showed the shooting till the new season began, a summer to remember transpired. There were “Who Shot J.R.?” t-shirts everywhere. That’s one of the reasons that I know about it because I slept in my mom’s “Who Shot J. R.?” T-Shirt every time I got the chance. “I Shot J. R.” t-shirts were prevalent also. During the 1980 Presidential campaign, one of the Republican buttons proclaimed that “A Democrat Shot J. R.” and Jimmy Carter said he could completely finance his campaign if he knew the answer to that pressing question—“Who Shot J. R?”

The Queen Mother of England was caught up in the mystery. The Turkish Parliament was allowed to go home early so as not to miss the revealing episode and Larry Hagman was offered $100,000 if he would reveal the culprit, but he didn’t know who it was. No one did—it was sorta like when is Jesus returning—only the Father knows. HA! But Vegas laid odds—the whole western world and some of the eastern was caught up in the mystery of “Who Shot J. R?”

Larry Hagman profited. He refused to film the revealing episode until he renegotiated a contract that gave him $100,000 per episode and rights to all J. R. merchandise. Once the long-awaited episode did air, it was a surprise to everyone that Kristin had shot J. R. He didn’t press charges, however, because she told him she was pregnant with his child. Kristin was played by Mary Crosby. Who would have thought that J. R. Ewing would have been shot by the daughter of crooner Bing Crosby?

Jess, my brother, and I, really got into the new DALLAS this season. I had wanted to watch it because of my early memories and because I had linked another of my books to the show—BOBBY DOES DALLAS. I made several Dallas and Ewing references in that book and even mentioned the song was played when Bobby Stewart would run out on the field.

One night while we were watching an episode with all of those sexy new Ewings—John Ross, Christopher and others—Jess got a glint in his eye. He turned to me and smiled. He said—“Let’s do something like that with your books.” I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, so he explained.

I have a series, “Hell Yeah!,” that has become quite popular. It is about a family of six brothers—the McCoys—who live on Tebow Ranch. Their names are Aron, Jacob, Joseph, Isaac, Noah and Nathan. And while each book has been well received—most love Aron the best. He is just sexy as hell. I laughed once and shared with a reader that I really had no intention of these books becoming a series. I wrote Cowboy Heat and it took off so I decided to expand. I’ll be honest with you, if I had known this was going to be a series I would have picked different names for the brothers. When they received their first names, I had just gotten through reading my Sunday School lesson and everyone got a biblical name. All of them are pretty good–except Noah. I giggle. Every time I say Noah, I just think of a guy with a robe and a long beard leading animals two-by-two onto an ark. But my Noah McCoy has turned out to be a sexy guy. Who knew?

Anyway, Jess’s idea was to create a mystery surrounding Aron. I have written five “Hell Yeah!” (the newest, I’ll See You In My Dreams, will release this week) and two cross-overs in a series called “Cajun Spice” and in every one of these books the lives of the brothers and their loves continue to unfold. The stories are connecting and some even overlap and in the last Cajun Spice, Forget Me Never, it is revealed—dun dun DUN!!!! that Aron is missing! He went missing on his honeymoon. I had no idea how this would go over but I have received dozens and dozens of emails from readers wanting to know what the heck is going on – ARON IS MISSING??????????

I love it. In the latest “Hell Yeah!,” we learn more, and more will be revealed in Noah’s book—Hell Yeah VI and in the next two Cajun Spice books. A lot of time in the “Hell Yeah!” universe won’t have elapsed because the books take place rather quickly, timeline wise. But like Jess thought, the idea that Aron is missing has caused quite a stir. My street team just made me a Café Press store. Maybe I ought to do t-Shirts—WHERE IS ARON???

Thank you for listening to me ramble. Like I promised, the YouTube link is attached for Dallas and the newest “Hell Yeah!” cover is attached. I’ve linked it back to my website where the purchase information will be made available as soon as possible. Today, HOT ON HER TRAIL—the 2^nd in the Hell Yeah! series is free on amazon. Check it out. I have also attached my website link and my fan page link and I do answer every email.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rJCJM5jr8o

An excerpt from the new book is attached and – oh yeah – one more thing.

REST IN PEACE, LARRY HAGMAN, YOU WILL BE MISSED.

EXCERPT FROM “I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS”

Link –  http://sablehunter.com/books.html

“Touch me, please.”

“Where, Presley?” Her desperation just fueled his passion. Being desired and needed was incredibly addictive.

“My breasts,” she whispered.

“I am touching you,” he crooned to her, suspecting what she was really asking.

“With your lips,” she said so softly he almost couldn’t hear. “If you don’t mind – that is.”

Sinking to his knees, he pushed her tits together and molded them in his hands, caressing and shaping them – rubbing his thumbs over the nipples. “You want me, don’t you?” Read the rest of this entry »