LindaWisdom

Cupid Gets Even

2012-02-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

A Note from Linda: This flash fiction was written before Wicked by Any Other Name was published. I thought it would be nice to bring it back.

“Welcome to Romantic Spirits. We’re here to show you all the romantic places to visit,” the perky blonde with dark gold eyes and a feline cast to her features held a heart-shaped microphone stood in front of an old-fashioned wood building. “Last week we interviewed Havelock Tennart, the troll with romance so deep in his heart, he actually spirited the love of his life off to the Midnight Dreams realm for a proposal she will never forget.” She heaved a deep sigh. “And today we’re visiting the witch who offers up more than just romance. She offers hope for the supernatural and mortal alike with sexy lingerie, romance novels and bespelled sachets guaranteed to bring love into your heart. Stasi Romanov is known all over the country and realms for what she can give a hopeful female in search of her soul mate.” She held up a bright pink heart-shaped silk sachet with embroidered roses around the edge. She held it to her nose and inhaled. Her face took on a dreamy expression. “Now if it can do to my mate what it does to me. Ooh la la! I feel ready for romance already!” she laughed. “Now let’s go inside.
“Let’s not!” The corpulent creature that resembled Sidney Greenstreet more than the cherub humans knew as Cupid, glared at his heart-shaped flat panel television that sat on the white cabinet with its gold leaf edges. He blindly reached into the vivid red satin-lined box and picked up a chocolate truffle, popping into his mouth and chewing furiously. “Insipid creature,” he muttered, choosing another fudge truffle. “She is a witch. I am the god of Eros! The god who invented romance.” He heaved himself out of his scarlet silk easy chair and paced a red carpet that belonged at a Hollywood film premiere. He waved his pudgy arms about as he stalked and talked, casting curses (not the literal kind since at heart he still delivered romance, not disease or even a stomach ache) on the sweet-faced witch who was presently being interviewed.
“And you believe in love and romance for everyone?” The reporter asked Stasi.
The witch smiled and nodded. “Of course. There’s a mate out there for all of us.”
“Yet you don’t have one.”
Stasi ignored the reporter’s sly look. “Maybe some day. For now, I like seeing others happy.”
“Happy? That’s my job, witch!” Cupid thrust out his arm, forefinger pointing at the screen. “You should be standing over a cauldron and casting your silly little spells. Not venturing into my territory.” He suddenly smiled as the idea of the millennium came to mind.His jowls danced as he snarled and snapped, not missing a beat as he continued to feast on his favorite truffles. He sighed with regret when he realized the box was empty.
He rubbed his oversize belly as he levered himself off the lipstick red velvet heart-shaped chair and waddled out of the room. His destination was a large sunlit room at the end of the hallway.
Cupid inhaled the rich scent of Belgian chocolate and cinnamon heart-shaped candies as he entered the room that soothed him best.
He activated the stereo and headed straight to a black lacquered cabinet.
“Love and marriage go together,” he murmured the words that released the lock. The doors swung open and revealed a hand-size heart that shimmered red, silver and gold. He smiled as he picked it up and gently caressed the metallic surface.
“One particular witch will soon learn her place.” He carried the heart over to a nearby table and began his work.
Do you want to know what Cupid did to Stasi? All you have to do is read Wicked By Any Other Name!

Love and Bunny Slippers

2012-02-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Fluff looked over Barney’s shoulder as the whie mini Schnauzer tapped away on the laptop keyboard.

“Easy peasy. I watch Mom do this every day,” the dog insisted, waving him off with a paw.

“This won’t work,” Puff groused, rummaging in a drawer.

“You better get out of Linda’s chocolate stash,” Barney warned. “If she finds that See’s box empty of her Bordeauxs she’ll be having Jazz lock you up for the next thousand years.” He groaned as he watched an empty white box fly into the air and fall over. “I shouldn’t even do this for you!”

“Sure you will. Or we’ll tell Linda YOU were the one in her chocolate.” Puff wiped chocolate off his face.

Barney uttered doggy curses as he returned to the computer. “Here we go, Freaklist. See anyone you like?” He sat back on his haunches so his fuzzy buddies could get a peek.

“Eh, you could do better.” Fluff scrunched up his nose.

“He doesn’t understand our world,” Puff reminded his cohort.

“Wait ‘til I’m in a book,” Barney muttered.

The bunny slippers hooted. “You’ll never be in one of Linda’s books!"

“Ha! She’s already got plans for me.” The small dog smirked.

“As what? A miniature Yeti?” The two slippers rolled around the floor in laughter, pleased with their retort.

“Oh, you’ll see.” Barney already saw himself as a true star. He continued scrolling down. “I’m going to make you guys total toast when it’s my turn.”

Fluff rolled over as a flash of pink caught his eye. “Yes!” He shot over to the laptop and used his ear to tap the keys. “Puff!” His fuzzy partner in crime was soon beside him.

“So pretty,” he breathed. Puff practically crawled over his friend to stare lovingly at the pink bunny high-heeled slippers named Val N Tine. “I’m in love,” he cooed.

“Email them! Now!” Barney clicked away then reared back, almost falling back on his butt. “Whoa! You guys better be prepared to grovel big time.”

“Why?” Fluff demanded.

"They live with Cupid.” The bunny slippers thought back to all the damage they’d done to Cupid’s digs.

“How many chocolate truffles do you think it will take to make him like us again?” Fluff asked. “Get Krebs’ black AmEx,” Puff told him. “And any other credit card you can find! We’re going to need to do some major shopping.”

Barney looked at the smears of chocolate on the carpet, the custom made blinds, the ceiling, and the furniture.

“You better get a boatload of See’s Bordeaux for Linda too, cuz no way I’m taking the blame for this.”

"There’s a way out,” Puff said, heading for a cabinet and pulling out a stack of spell books. “We are so going to meet those babes!”

Twas the Night Before Valentine's by Kristen Lamb

2012-02-10T22:22:00.000-08:00

Kristen Lamb has graciously allowed this to be reposted, so I had to share.

Twas the Night Before Valentinesby Author Kristen Lamb
http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/

Twas the night before Valentines, and all through the land
The poor single people were wringing their hands
Handcuffs were hung by the nighties with care
Near the lotions and chocolates and mint underwear.
A day made by Hallmark to sell lots of stuff
Pushing candies and kittens and kisses and fluff
A day that makes “Single” a social disease
Like bubonic or typhoid or chiggers or fleas
And that fat baby Cupid must be on the take
Paid in buckets of cash and red velvet cake.
Love songs are played on every damn station
As “mush” takes over our entire nation.
Now not that we’re jaded, us single-type folk
We’ve tried Facebook and Match, and Equally-Yoked
We’ve tried parks and clubs and churches and bars
And a handful resorted to wishing on stars.
Like most other people, we want company
Without drama or fighting or disharmony.
No Jerry Springer or Kardashian drama
We have no time for all of that trauma.
Maybe we’re picky, world-weary, or fussy
Because we won’t date any Joe Schmo or hussy.
We want someone good-looking, gentle and sweet.
Hey, just cuz we’re single doesn’t make us minced meat.
We don’t begrudge the romance of others
The passion of courtship, the heat between lovers.
Before you judge my singular state
Think back to the days when you had to date.
Tomorrow we’ll stand in the grocery store line
Behind the husband with a bottle of wine
And a “Get-Well” bouquet cuz he waited too late
To find the red roses to give to his mate.
Hallmark has trained you to scurry and dash
Into its stores with fistfuls of cash.
For stuffed little critters with a lap full of love
And boxes of chocolate morsels from Dove.
Singles won’t stand hours waiting to dine
On elf food with garnish and overpriced wine.
No chocolates with abnormal tropical middles
Or angst about thighs that may wiggle and jiggle.
No staying in bars desperately late
Trying to connect with a last-minute date.
So embrace your status and shout it out loud.
Yes, I am single! Single and Proud!

A Tour of Crying Souls Hospital

2012-02-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

I see the hospital inside my head as a 3-D building. Too bad I can’t just download it to my computer. :} So I’ll do the best I can to show you what the hospital is like.

“You’re all going to die!” The un-named vulture that perched over the hospital entrance flapped his wings and craned his head, snapping his beak at all who approached the gothic-style building.

Hm, A hospital designed to keep you alive and a vulture designed to want you dead and rotting.

I vote for the hospital.

All Souls has actually been in existence since the 1500s, first based outside of olde London then moving to the California coast a couple hundred years ago.

Just remember that not everyone here likes mundanes. Muggles to Harry Potter fans. Namely those who don’t have magick in their blood.

As you can tell by looking at the sanatorium you are seeing a four-story sprawling building that looks as if it popped out of a Boris Karloff horror movie. While All Souls is in San Francisco, the exterior looks as if it would be more comfortable in scary and merry olde England. Stone exterior with a strange black moss creeping up the sides and the vulture waiting for his next meal. Just remember one thing. Looks can be deceiving.

Or are they?

Don’t continue to think you’re the star in a B horror movie where a deranged medical professional might pounce out of the shadows. Although you still might want to be aware of your surroundings. Anything can happen.

The hospital interior is very modern. It is well lit, the nurses wear colorful scrubs, doctors with their lab coats even if a few might tend to be furry or sport scales. And if you catch a hint of sulfur it’s due to Director of Nursing Arementha Garrish who’s a dragon shifter. She rules over her nurses with an iron tail. As one who worked under her, I should know. Our head of the hospital is Dr. Mortimer. A wizard of undeterminable age who some think is more like a mad scientist.

Don’t expect to see an ER like the one at your hospital. One wall reveals portals that deliver emergencies faster than any ambulance. Even a pharmacy manned by a cranky gnome who dispenses potions or tisanes that always includes a spell as accompaniment can be an eye opener for the uninitiated.

Here you will see creatures you thought only existed in fairy tales or those odd books you might find in a musty old bookshop. There might be a troll waiting to be treated for injuries after a bridge mishap. A gnome with a bad sunburn that looks more like pus pockets. Then there’s the Fooz who looks like a gelatinous mass that oozes over the gurney and drips down. The doctors play wand, scroll, and scalpel to see who gets that patient. We won’t even talk what the place is like on a Full Moon. Some Weres tend to party way too much. It’s the variety that pleases Lili since she never knows what will show up next. Many patients that show up aren’t what you’d see in your everyday ER. But then, neither are the nurses and doctors. No wonder the gurneys and beds here can turn into iron-barred cages with the mention of a word. A word of warning. Whatever you do, don’t call Deisphe, the WereLeopard nurse a pretty kitty. Not if you want to keep your head.

Since even pretenatural creatures can also require medical treatment we’ll find the floors divided for those with dangerous illnesses, namely anything where the patient might explode, contagious diseases, a pediatric ward where you’ll find Lil’s cat Cleo entertaining the younglings with tales from her youth. Luckily, she keeps them G-rated. My advice is you stay away from the maternity ward. If you think hormonal mundane woman are scary, think about a female bloater that pops out (literally) a hundred or so baby bloaters and part of the birthing process involves singing at a key that can shatter eardrums.

And yes, that is not an illusion floating through the halls but a ghost. Many of the nurses didn’t want to leave the hospital and enjoy hanging around to view modern medicine and sometimes manage to make their opinions known. The interesting part is seeing the different in nursing uniforms through the centuries.

Oh wait, don’t go near those stairs! You really don’t want to go below. Actually, you wouldn’t be able to get too far. There’s a very large and heavy door that seals off the asylum from the hospital. The reason given is to protect the innocent from the dangerous patients locked down in the asylum.

This part of the hospital is only open to Dr. Mortimer, the head of the hospital, two nasty ogres named Turtifo and Coing who believe their job is to keep the patients in line by any means possible, and Lili, who’s new to the ward.

It’s something you’d only think you’d see a horror movie. While magick powers modern conveniences for the staff, the patients live in stone cells with iron doors. No real beds, food, well, don’t even think what it might be, and treatment is out of the Dark Ages. Rumors are that the patients’ families pay large sums to keep them there. But one cell houses a patient that intrigues Lili and she intends to find out just what goes on with Patient 1172, AKA Jared.

Now, who would like to go up to Pediatrics and eavesdrop on Cleo? Sometimes she forget she’s speaking to younglings and you just might get some useful advice for your love life along with dirt on her past lovers.

Do yourself a favor and ignore the vulture on your way out.

Just because he says we’re all going to die doesn’t mean it’s happening today. Or even tomorrow.

What would you like to know about the hospital?

Linda

How Paranormal Chose Me

2012-02-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

I’ve often been asked why I chose to write paranormal and I have to say that it was more that paranormal chose me.

My favorite books growing up were fairy tales and my comic books were Casper the Ghost and Wendy the Little Witch. Yes, it dates me. Hm, I wonder what they’d be worth now if I’d kept them.

We have a house ghost named Frank, so yes, paranormal is all around me. I think he’s a secret cook since utensils tend to disappear at odd times then reappear in the same spot later on. We missed a potato masher for a year until it showed up without warning.

I tend to put a magickal spin on my life. Can be scary at times, but it’s also fun. I don’t have dogs. I have hellhounds. Our parrot has some wild tendencies and even our tortoise has her own methods.

I loved reading the gothic romances back in the 70s and 80s. Some even had ghosts in the attic. But paranormal romances weren’t out there. Then ideas for several paranormals came to mind and I worked them up. When I mentioned them to my then agent I heard “you’re killing me here! I can’t sell those!” I offered to send her the ideas along with wine. :}

But let’s talk timing. My agent sent them on to my editor and the day they landed on her desk was the day she came up with a calendar of books. She said my romance set in Salem, MA was perfect for Halloween and Under His Spell was out there. Not a true paranormal but I loved the elements. Along with that was A Man for Maggie, a murder suspense involving a psychic, No Room at the Inn, which was my Christmas version of Brigadoon, Twist of Fate, what I called another type of Quantum Leap, and Bells Rings and Angel’s Wings, my spin on It’s A Wonderful Life. But readers weren’t totally ready for paranormal romances. The best thing about these books are that they’re back out there as ebooks.

Even if the books weren’t selling back then the idea of paranormal was still there in the back of my mind. There was an idea lingering that would whisper you really need to listen to me.

So I did. Witches who’d been around since the 1300s formed in living color and I knew I had to write the stories.

I talked to pagan friends, researched historical facts to add as background information, and the magickal world I already lived in had become even richer to my senses.

I have snarky bunny slippers that roam the house and harass the dogs. A gargoyle that I sometimes find in my lingerie drawers. A witch who thinks my coffee is hers. Another witch who reminds me romance is a good thing. A hexster who whispers in my ear when I feel the need to get even with someone. One who lets me know I may be short but to stand up for myself as in ‘hey, I’m supposed to be waited on next” and a healer who’s sorry her power won’t cure my cold. One who loves it when I go shopping and so on.

And this is why paranormal chose me.

What about you? What does paranormal do for you?

Linda

Why Cleo Makes Me Laugh

2012-02-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

There are always scenes in a book that I either laugh or cry over the most.

I always knew one of the witches would have a cat. I just didn't know it would be someone like Cleo.

I probably look more than a little strange as I type away and laugh or sniffle. With A Demon Does it Better it has to be Cleo who had me laughing. A cat who overindulges in catnip wine can only turn out hilarious. She may have started out life as the queen of the Nile and known for her lovers, Cleo is now a plump Persian cat with mega attitude and believing Lili can’t have a decent love life if she doesn’t listen to Cleo.

I hope you enjoy this scene with Cleo. If you have any questions for her, feel free to ask.

Cleo lay in the middle of the floor sprawled on her back, staring intently at her frothy plume of a tail that waved back and forth. She hummed a snake charmer’s tune as the tail danced in circles before her twitching nose.
The feline twisted her head around and stared at the witch and demon with glazed eyes.
“What do you do with a drunken kitty? What do you do with a drunken kitty? What do you do with a drunken kitty early in the morning!” Cleo howled loud enough to shatter glass.
“If I didn’t know better I’d think she was drunk,” Jared choked back a laugh. He hastily erased his grin when the witch turned to spear him with a look fit to hex.
“She is,” Lili said grimly. “That furry twit wasn’t happy she couldn’t go to Asmeth’s, so she managed to get hold of catnip wine. How did you get all those bottles?” she demanded of the cat. “I never keep more than one bottle in the house. Do you know what each bottle costs?” Her shriek rang through the house rattling the paintings on the wall and a vase on the mantel started to teeter back and forth before settling back in its original spot.
Cleo laughed boisterously as she waved a paw in a wide circle. “Did you know they deliver and all you have to do is give them your credit card number and for an extra fee they’ll even magick express it?” She purred. “So that’s what I did. I gave them your Visa.” She started waving both paws in the air. “They’re even willing to set up an auto delivery, so I said yes.” The cat cackled with glee.
Jared looked down at the clattering sound on the floor. He watched in amazement as the many bottles rolled into the kitchen and tossed themselves into the recycling container.
“You’re the one that will have to suffer the hangover in the morning,” Lili snarled, standing over the intoxicated cat. “And it won’t be pretty. Remember 1936? You were sick for days.” She threw up her hands. “I should make you sleep outside.”
Jared turned away to hide the grin that was stretching his mouth to the limit.
“And here I thought I’d seen it all,” he muttered, struggling not to laugh and quickly losing the battle.
“Don’t even think about it,” she warned him. “You’ll only encourage her.”
“I’m only a puss in a gilded cage,” Cleo warbled, rolling from one side to the other.
Jared shook his head and walked into the kitchen. He dropped onto one of the chairs and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with the laughter he could no longer hold back. The sound sounded foreign and rusty to his ears. When was the last time he’d truly laughed in true amusement?
“It’s not funny!” Lili stormed in, her magick flying around her in erratic flutters. “Cleo can be out of control when she’s sober, but you have no idea how bad she is when she’s drunk on catnip wine. One time she even snuck into a zoo and tried to seduce a lion!”
He shook his head, unable to form any coherent words. His mouth worked. “My stomach hurts,” he finally gasped.

The following is from the next morning

Cleo wearing extra dark sunglasses was spread out on the hood.
“You better not have left any claw marks on my baby.” Lili reached inside her SUV and pulled out her coffee tumbler. The liquid was still hot and bracing on her tongue.
“Talk to the paw.” She held up an appendage, offering the witch a wicked smile as long razor-sharp claws shot out. She lowered it to the metal and etched her name with that painful nails- on- a- chalkboard screech. Lili snarled and covered her ears with her hands. The witch shot an array of ent sparks toward Cleo that had her jumping up in the air as the scratches disappeared.
“I hate you,” the cat sneered when she landed all feet down. “There was no reason to drag me out here just because you needed to get in touch with your inner witch. I could have stayed home deliberately shedding all over your bed.”
“Not when you’d probably projectile vomit all over my silk comforter. Besides, I wasn’t the one who overindulged on catnip wine last night and maxed out my Visa.” She waited until Cleo crawled her way into the passenger seat.
“Just kill me now or give me a hangover remedy,” the feline moaned, curling up on the seat with her nose tucked into her tail.
“The potion doesn’t y don’t work on catnip wine and you know it. You’ll just have to suck it up and suffer the consequences of your wild night.” She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. She gauged she had just enough time to make it home and get dressed for work.
“I smell the demon on you.” Cleo wrinkled her nose. Her lush fur ruffled. “How come he gets around so much and can’t leave the hospital for good? If I had to smell that musty wizard doc all the time I’d be outta there like a puss on a mouse.”

Demons Do It Better!

2012-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

The list can be so long and give a woman a lot of ideas!

I’m sure many of you have read books where the demons are downright ugly and totally gross.

Then there are the demons who are sex on the hoof.

Jared in A Demon Does It Better is one of those.

What does a demon do better? He can take an innocuous moment and make it so sexy that you would melt. Such as he did with his first meeting with Lili when she’s in a scent shop in the magickal plane of Inderman.

Can you imagine holding a bottle of perfume and have a man show you just how sensual it is? This is how Jared did it and proof a demon does it better.

He picked up the bottle and carefully tipped it against his fingertip. Turning toward her he gently traced a path down her throat then repeated the touch on each wrist. The oil turned to liquid heat, causing a lot of thoughts of wearing the perfume and nothing else.
Lili couldn’t keep her eyes off his hands. Strong, capable, yet gentle. She was positive they would feel the same everywhere else on her.
Get your mind back where it belongs!
Easier said than done.
He lifted her hand, palm up, and leaned over to sniff her wrist. His breath drifted over the surface. When he lifted his head, his eyes blazed a vivid blue.
“She’s right,” he murmured. “This is meant for you.”

Demons are sensual creatures. Ones who relish the feel of flesh against flesh. Here’s evidence that Jared likes to take it one step further.

Before Lili could ask him what he was doing, he pulled her out of her chair and into his arms. He captured her mouth, kissing her so deeply the action was as intimate as sex. It blistered her down to her toes and she could only hang on for the ride as his tongue invaded her mouth without her even thinking of protesting. Lili gripped his arms, feeling the hard muscles ripple under her touch. She kept her eyes closed, losing herself in the sensual clouds that moved around her. She felt wrapped in something that seeped into her bones. A heat that was untamed and had her wondering if the images that flared behind her closed eyelids were his or hers. Sheets flowed around them while their naked bodies writhed in ecstasy, a magick that was wild setting the room afire as they sought something on a far sensual plane that few could attain. A pairing that was so perfect that her senses cried at the beauty that flooded her mind. Now she knew he shared the same images.

But demons have a sense of humor too. It’s necessary when a sexy demon is encountering a drunken kitty.

Jared turned away to hide the grin that was stretching his mouth to the limit.
“And here I thought I’d seen it all,” he muttered, struggling not to laugh and quickly losing the battle.
“Don’t even think about it,” she warned him. “You’ll only encourage her.”
“I’m only a puss in a gilded cage,” Cleo warbled, rolling from one side to the other.
Jared shook his head and walked into the kitchen. He dropped onto one of the chairs and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with the laughter he could no longer hold back. The sound sounded foreign and rusty to his ears. When was the last time he’d truly laughed in true amusement?
“It’s not funny!” Lili stormed in, her magick flying around her in erratic flutters. “Cleo can be out of control when she’s sober, but you have no idea how bad she is when she’s drunk on catnip wine. One time she even snuck into a zoo and tried to seduce a lion!”

He shook his head, unable to form any coherent words. His mouth worked. “My stomach hurts,” he finally gasped.

It’s not thought that demons have a sense of right and wrong. Or worrying about others. Jared might have literally been branded a psychopath, but he reveals there’s much more to him than a dangerous streak.

Jared smiled and shrugged. “I don’t know. I had this strong feeling that you needed me and the shadows took over from there. It was like that first time I showed up at your house.” He touched her face with his fingertips, pulling them away, and staring at the dampness on his skin. “Don’t cry for us, love. We’ve all been demented for so long we don’t know anything else. Heal the ones above and leave us to our punishment.”

And last but not least, this demon is a team player. No matter what he does, he does it better.

Jared smiled and stole her breath with his kiss. “I guess a witch and demon as a team do it even better.”

Any ideas what you feel a demon does better?

Linda

A Magickal Fusion

2012-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the world of magick and mayhem

Hm, if I’m not careful I’ll be humming a magickal version of ‘It’s A Small World’! And now you’ll hate me for that tune bouncing around inside your head.

But if you think about it the title works well for the world I’ve created.

I’m an only child so perhaps that’s why world building turns so real for me.

It’s always been difficult for me to describe my world since it resides inside my head. Sort of a special computer that allows me to switch from one world to another. I’m a big fan of The Big Bang Theory and Sheldon has a make-believe world that sometimes I wonder is close to what I do. A very scary thought!

My writing turns into a 3D movie inside my head. I can see the Victorian house Jazz and Krebs share, the color, sights and sounds of the boardwalk where Nick’s office building resides. The funky mountain town Stasi and Blair live in. The desert-like compound Maggie knows as home. Lili’s cozy cottage, the mixture of gothic and modern that’s known as Crying Souls Hospital and Asylum, and the magickal plane of Inderman with everything that tempts the magickal senses.

I wish I could draw because I’d love nothing better than to create my world for others to see. But I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. My 8th grade art instructor gave me a D even though I flunked the course, because he said he had never failed a student and couldn’t that time. Trust me, you don’t even want to see my stick figures.

So I try to show my world with words and descriptions. I hope you see the characters the way I do, their worlds, and even what goes on around them. That you feel a part of the story and you might even look over your shoulder if a shadow doesn’t appear what it should be or just maybe that cat has a knowing look in her eye.

Is that sparkle in the air a hint of pixie dust or just a trick of sunlight? What about that dog howling? Is it really a dog you hear or something more sinister?

And what about that woman standing behind you at Starbucks? Is there something ‘different’ about her?

That’s how my world works. Anything is possible.

Is that what you want from your world? To do the improbable?

Linda

A World of Magick

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Anyone who’s known me for a long time is aware I’m actually very shy. Ask me about myself and I sort of stare at the floor. I’m not trying to be difficult, but I can’t imagine anyone wants to know about me.

Ask me about my critters and I’ll talk your ear off. Ask me about my books and your other ear will follow ear number one. And you’ll be running for the hills.

I think it also has to do with something that happened in 1983 when I was still a newly published author with my third book just out. I was at a very large group signing and met an author who I’d enjoyed for some years. I was so excited to have a chance to meet her and tried to do my best not to gush. The minute the woman learned I wrote category romance I was suddenly relegated to the lowest of the low. She was so rude to me that I couldn’t believe anyone would act like that. I didn’t read her books after that. That could be why I feel better when my books speak for me.

Perhaps it’s because I’m an only child that my characters have always been real to me. I see them in 3-D inside my head and there are times when I’m positive Fluff and Puff the magick bunny slippers are roaming the house, Irma’s taken over the passenger seat in my SUV, or Maggie’s on duty if I’m running errands after dark. Who knows, maybe Lili’s around when I’m sick and Cleo’s crooning the Soft Kitty song.

Whether writing or reading, the characters are important to me. They are what rounds out the story.

I can sit here and talk about Lili, how she came about in my head (you have to admit it’s kind of funny to have a witch doctor heroine), what kind of man will enter her life, and what creature will be her sidekick.

Lili made her first appearance in 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover as wallmail correspondence between her and Jazz. I wasn’t entirely sure when her book would appear in the series. I have a file with notes, ideas of her story, and creature thoughts.

I also knew it meant deciding what historical facts I’d weave into the book. One I won’t mention since it has to do with the plot and one of the characters.

Creating an asylum as dark and disgusting as I did was actually easy. A movie I’ve watched more than once is Bedlam, starring Boris Karloff. A ‘hospital’ housing the mentally ill in ways no one would want to comprehend. A Demon Does It Better was the perfect background for an asylum and easy to create a demon hero who was literally branded a homicidal maniac. Especially, when you consider the hospital was ultra-modern and the dungeon was still back in the 1700s. Although there is the hospital greeter, a vulture perched over the hospital doorway announcing everyone will die. Yes, he’s a bit of sunshine.

Cleo was easy since I wanted a diva kitty and giving her Cleopatra’s heritage made it fun.

A Demon Does It Better is special for two very good reasons. It’s dedicated to my mom who passed away last fall and to a wonderful friend, Beverly Barton, who I also miss every day.

This is what I can talk about. Characters, families and friends who all seem to be intertwined.

What does it mean to you? Would you prefer knowing everything about the author (although please don’t ask my weight or how I lost my virginity! No joke. Someone did ask me that once!) or about the books themselves?

A Magickal Journey

2012-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

My path as a writer has been a strange and winding one. Plus never boring.

After all, 32 years ago I started out with sweet traditional romances and worked my way up to sexier romances and now witches, and vampires, and demons, oh my!

Funny thing is some people think I’ve only been writing for a few years since they don’t know me before my Hex and Demon series. Now I’m putting out many of my backlist books showing my readers there’s many sides to me. And isn’t that scary!

And fun.

I like to think my readers can identify with my characters. I know I do. Friends say I’m most like Jazz, my first witch. I know she’s said and done things I’d love to do. And a few that I have done. I have bunny slippers that tend to end up in odd parts of the house. I swear I can hear them screaming if one of my dogs drags them around the house.

So what does that say about me? I love my paranormal world? It’s real to me. No, I don’t hear voices. Well, yes, I do and if I don’t listen to them the book doesn’t go the way it should. :} So it’s a good thing.

While an excellent story is necessary, I’ve always felt it’s the characters that make it ‘real’.

Are the characters in a book important to you? Do they make you hungry for the next book?

Those Pesky Resolutions

2012-01-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Long ago I spent the first of every year writing out my New Year resolutions. The list was pretty much the usual along with whatever had to do with me personally, get back to my workouts on a regular basis, be nicer in the grocery store (don’t ask), polish the furniture before I can write my name in the dust, do more cooking than just throw something in the crock pot,

Then there’s the writing resolutions. Make all my deadlines, don’t play paper toss game when I should be writing (I should take the app from my Nook, but it’s so fun!), write a certain number of pages per day.

There is an excellent reason why I don’t make resolutions. They’re too easy to break.

What I’ve done instead is make out a wish list. I don’t do this just at the first of the year, but add to it throughout the year. There is no reason why it should just have to do with January. I have a variety of wish lists. What I’d like to do with my writing. Personal wishes and anything else that comes to mind. The fun part is crossing out something once it’s accomplished.

How I do this is thinking what’s lurking in my imagination. What book I hope to write and finish. List the books I hope to see go to contract. Are there conferences I hope to attend.

Putting them down in print makes it real. A promise that I need to do what I’ve said.

Some would say it’s the same with resolutions, but calling it a wish list makes it easier for me.

And don’t we all like to see wishes come true?

Do you make resolutions? And if you do, how many do you find you keep or do you close your eyes and toss the list?

How would you feel if you made a wish list? Would it be easier to keep or accomplish?

Linda

Cleo Tells All

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

“Desdomoana Haversham here,” the ghostly television hostess smiled at the camera. Dressed in a flowing white gown, her snowy hair rippling in waves down her back, and skin like rare porcelain, the spirit looked the part of one long gone. “My guest today is Cleo, the former queen of the Nile.” She wrinkled her aristocratic nose and stifled a delicate sneeze. “I deeply apologize, I am allergic to cats.”

“You’re dead.” Cleo sniffed back. The chinchilla Persian cat sat on a bright pink silk cushion with the same regal bearing. “Plus, I do not shed.” She ignored a couple silvery hairs floating in the air.

Desdomoana dabbed at her nose with a snowy-white linen handkerchief. “Yes, well, we are here to talk about you and your witch, are we not?”

“Yes, we are,” the fluffy feline purred. “And I must say I am very pleased to be back in San Francisco and especially, Inderman where we can find a higher quality of salmon.”

“What can you tell my viewers about Lili Carter? Yes, we know she is a powerful witch with healing magick in her bones, but what is she like at home?” Desdomoana leaned forward, her pale blue glittering with glee at the prospect of learning the dark and dirty. “Does she have odd habits? Uses her magick all the time? What is going on with the lovely witch now? Tell all, my dear.”

Cleo tapped her paw against her mouth in though then sighed. “The witch is boring with a capital B.”

“Boring? Never!”

The feline leaned forward. “Do you know how long it’s been since she’s gone on a date? Even had coffee with a male, appropriate or non? As for sex, well …” her voice drifted off. “What can I say? For someone of Greek descent, she is more a Vestal Virgin. Although they weren’t as virginal as they claimed. The ones in Pompeii were especially ….” She tittered. “But I hope to see that change.”

“How so?” Desdomoana’s purr rivaled Cleo’s. “Don’t tease us, darling.”

Cleo looked over her shoulder before turning back to the PNN, Pretenatural News Network, hostess. “Well, as you know, Lili is on the staff at Crying Souls Hospital and Asylum,” she said in a low voice as if afraid of being overheard other than the thousands of creatures watching the broadcast. “Now you tell, me how many suitable males can you find at a hospital?”

“Mundanes always seem to enjoy if they affiliate with a doctor,” Desdomoana chimed in.

“Trust me, not at Crying Souls.” Cleo raised her eyes to the ceiling. “Not a suitable one in the bunch. I have devoted my life to seeing that witch mated the an appropriate male, but that isn’t happening.” If she’d been humanoid she would have looked as if she was biting her lip. “It’s a trifle dry in here, don’t you think? Would you have any catnip wine around?”

“No, we don’t. You found someone for her,” the sultry vampire cooed. “Didn’t you?”

“I have more chosen a proper male for her than once and she has always turned them down.” The cat sighed. “Lili is not one to choose well and I’m afraid that could happen this time. Although,” she absently chewed on a claw, “we did meet this lovely specimen in the scent shop in Inderman. Her pulse did race when he spoke to her and I must say I’d raise my tail for him any time.” She looked around. “Are you sure you don’t have any catnip wine in the studio?”

“Yes, I am,” Desdomoana snapped. “We are here to discuss Lili Carter. She’s well known for her work with not just the supernatural community but even treating mundanes. And you are also known for your involvement helping the younglings when they’re in the hospital. Why would you both return to San Francisco after so many decades? Did she leave because of a scandal?” Her dark eyes fired with avarice for juicy gossip. “We understand that Dr. Carter worked in Bedlam hospital during its worst. Is that why she will be working in the asylum at Crying Souls? It’s been said there are truly evil creatures housed there. Isn’t she afraid of dealing with the afflicted?”

Cleo uttered a hiss of frustration. “She’s a doctor, for Fates sake! She treats who is ill.” She ripped off the tiny microphone slipped in her fur. “This interview is over. I should have known you were too cheap to have catnip wine on hand.” She stalked off the set.

“We aren’t finished!” Desdomoana yelped, raising blood-red tipped fingers.

“The Queen of the Nile has left the building,” came back to the vampire.

What about you? What question would you ask Lili’s furry partner? Cleo tends to talk more if you have catnip wine on hand.

Linda

What Is It About Being a Romance Writer?

2012-01-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Last Dcember I celebrated my 32nd year since I sold my first two books. It’s been quite a journey.

Years ago romance authors were considered someone who wrote ‘those kind of books’. Many times I was asked when I’d write a ‘real’ book. Considering my books were sold in bookstores and people read them I saw them as real books. People even commented it was nice I had a hobby.

All I knew was that I wanted to write since I could pick up a crayon. And romance was something I wanted to create.

Over the years I’ve written a variety of romance books while finding my way toward paranormal and urban fantasy. My first paranormal romance was published in 1990 about a psychic who dreamed of a murder.

Over the years I’ve been asked what surprises me about being a romance writer. Everything.

What a surprise that I can release my imagination and put my story ideas down. A warm and fuzzy feeling that people want to read what I write. The sense that some of those readers over the years have even turned into good friends.

Writing is always a strange process. At least it is for me. My characters talk to me – yes, I hear voices – and tell me what I need to write. I have to listen to them because if I don’t things don’t go well. Trust me on this.

It’s not even a ‘what if’ inside my head. More like ‘you have to write down what I tell you’.

Writing is a solitary occupation, but I’m not really alone. My characters are always chattering away, the dogs do their part in reminding me they’re due for book time, and my parrot believes he’s in charge. Connecting with other authors who have also become good friends.

All are excellent surprises. The kind we all like. As rich as chocolate and strong as coffee. The feeding of our imaginations and the knowledge we can curl up with a good read.

I’m as bad as many with reading late into the night because I need to finish a book. And the same when I’m writing because I can’t stop writing.

I hope I’ll continue to have surprises in my work. That way I can never become bored.

Does anything about a writer surprise you whether you’re another author or reader?

Linda

Who Would You Be?

2012-01-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Who Would I Be?

The fun part about writing my witchy series is putting a bit of myself in each character. Usually, it’s my demented sense of humor and my friends will tell you they hear my voice any time they read Jazz’s books.

But if I had a choice for A Demon Does It Better, who would I be?

That’s really a toughie. I adore Deisphe with her bad kitty attitude and her caring nature for her patients. The idea of turning into a sleek leopard sounds like fun.

Lili with her gift of magickal healing. A cozy house, good friends.

But I’d have to say I wouldn’t mind being Cleo for a day. Can you imagine a cat with her history? She’s THAT Cleo! The female who had Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony as lovers along with ruling Egypt.

I’m sure she wanted to be thrown into one of the slinky cats known during that ancient time, and instead is a fluffy gorgeous Persian. But maybe that’s what she likes since she has a good-sized tail to twitch at any admiring male.

Cleo also loves children and enjoys visiting the Pediatric ward where she relates stories. I’m sure she has to make sure many of them are G-rated. She has magick of her own and she has a pretty cushy life. Sleeps when she wants, gets to visit interesting places, and a powerful witch at her beck and call. Sometimes overindulges on catnip wine, but it’s expected when you’re thousands of years old.

I wasn’t going to create a clichéd cat for a witch. I wanted one that was equal to Lili. Cleo is that and more. It’s not just feline arrogance, which she definitely has. She also has a soft heart for anyone hurting. And she’s not above offering a wealth of advice about the opposite sex. Refer to above. Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile.

I like the idea of naps on a silk cushion, a sense of freedom, and hopefully a better diet than your average kitty kibble. Oh that’s right, Cleo only eats gourmet food.

Cleo is a force of supernatural nature. She gives as good as she gets and always comes out on top.

So who wouldn’t want to have that kind of power?

What about you? Would you be willing to hang out inside a critter for awhile?

Linda

A Demon Does It Better Excerpt

2012-01-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

How do we know a demon does it better? The following will explain. Enjoy!

Cleo sneezed as Lili stepped inside the Shop of Scents.
“My allergies,” she complained.
“Then don’t breathe.” The witch had no sympathy as she examined the many-colored bottles, some labeled, others a mystery.
“You wish something special?” The silver-haired woman at the counter greeted her with a broad smile. “Fragrance to tempt your lover? Something to give you luck perhaps?” Her pale eyes peered at her closely. “Ah, you are the healer. Something soothing, then?”
Lili picked up a bottle and pulled the stopper out. She smelled spring flowers and fresh greenery. Another bottle yielded a winter of sharp ice while the third had her thinking of an ancient bazaar of spices and heat.
“You have not been here in many years,” the crone named Sameka said. “You chose a scent that was light and carefree.” She gestured toward a delicate pink glass bottle. “No longer is it you. You require a fragrance that holds a hint of darkness and mystery.” She held up a finger. “Wait here.” She moved with the ease of someone much younger—Lili gauged her years to be past nine hundred. She parted the amethyst silk curtains and disappeared into the back of the shop. She returned a moment later carrying a gilt-trimmed bottle that looked as if it had been owned by royalty. She set it on the counter and carefully eased the stopper out.
Lili didn’t need to lift the bottle to inhale the contents. They lifted their way to her. Images of silk, moans in a dark night, and a sensuality that warmed her bones were only parts of what she sensed in the perfume oil. She feared to ask the price. She only had to look at the shopkeeper to know it was very old and very rare.
“This is truly what you are now, and even more so as each day passes,” the old woman told her with a knowing smile.
“Huh. She must see something we don’t,” Cleo muttered.
“Quiet, you.” She wanted to try it on her skin. There were no worries it wouldn’t smell right with her personal chemistry. Sameka never forgot a customer or what suited them.
“Try it.” The male voice near her ear was as intoxicating as the perfume.
She looked up to see her mystery man standing next to her. Dark hair, eyes that rivaled a cobalt ring she had, and so good-looking her senses immediately kicked into overdrive.
He picked up the bottle and carefully tipped it against his fingertip. Turning toward her, he gently traced a path down her throat, then repeated the touch on each wrist. The oil turned to liquid heat, creating thoughts of wearing the perfume and nothing else.
Lili couldn’t keep her eyes off his hands. Strong, capable, yet gentle. She was positive they would feel the same everywhere else on her.
Get your mind back where it belongs!
Easier said than done.
He lifted her hand, palm up, and bent down to sniff her wrist. His breath drifted over the surface. When he lifted his head, his eyes blazed a vivid blue.
“She’s right,” he murmured. “This is meant for you.”
“Oh my,” Cleo said in a hushed whisper.
Lili silently repeated the words, not even realizing that little stunned the jaded cat. For a moment she forgot they had an avid audience.
“I shall wrap it up.” The crone swept the bottle away and soon had it nestled in a velvet covered box.
The witch didn’t wince at the high price.
“Who are you?” she asked the man.
“Someone who knows what scent a woman should wear,” the crone cackled.
He lifted Lili’s hand and pressed a light kiss in the center of her palm. She felt the burn of his lips all the way to her core.

It's Not Your Typical Hospital

2012-01-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

What a terrific way to start the year than with a new book release?

How many of us watched medical dramas? Go all the way back to Dr. Kildaire, Ben Casey, onward to Medical Center, Marcus Welby MD, to ER, House and Grey’s Anatomy.

I’ve used doctors in my past books, but nothing like Dr. Lili Carter, an ER physician in San Francisco’s Crying Soul’s Hospital and Asylum. Nor the patients she encounters. Not a human in the bunch. But that’s what makes it fun.

Where else will you encounter a wereleopard nurse, a dragon shifter head nurse and a musty old wizard doctor? A regal Persian cat who’d been Cleopatra in another life and is only too happy to advise you on your love life. And who else should know better about romance than the queen who seduced Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony?

And a witch who heals with magick and a smattering of actual medicine too. Can you imagine the kinds of medical schools Lili attended over the centuries?

But a sexy witch needs a male who can handle her. That’s where Jared comes in. A demon with a dark past who Lili should have run from the first second she saw him. But who wants to run away from a hot guy who has you thinking silk sheets and some absolutely yummy sex?

I’ve always said I write what I love to read. That means magick, hints of suspense, quirky, and surprises.

Plus my characters can say and do what I want to at times.

As I said it’s fun to start out the year with a new book whether its mine or any of my friends’ books who yes, I immediately download to my Nook. If I can’t sleep and there’s nothing good on TV I know I’ll have some fun reading ahead of me.

Along with A Demon Does It Better, I have some of my backlist books coming out as ebooks and more coming each week. You can find them through http://www.joyridebooks.com/ along with Amazon, BN, and Smashwords.

Just remember, a book a day keeps the frownies away. :}

And Happy New Year!

Linda

A Gargoyle New Year

2011-12-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

"You are so taking me to the party!" Horace hopped up and down on the polished wood surface of Stasi's dresser as she rummaged through her closet.

"No." Her word was muffled but that didn't stop the power she exuded.

The six-inch grayish stone gargoyle snarled as he absently chewed on a razor sharp claw. "It's New Year's Eve and I want to celebrate! ."

"And your point is?" Stasi pulled out a cobalt silk strapless dress with a flirty hem that revealed more than it covered. She hung the dress on a nearby hook and returned to the closet to find shoes.

"I don't want to be alone."

The 700-year plus witch ignored his mock-sorrowful tone. "You won't be alone. Bogie isn't going either." She looked over her shoulder and smiled at her beloved and magickal Yorkie/Chihuahua that tended to float along the floor instead of walking and disappeared if he thought he was in trouble. At the moment, the dog was sleeping peacefully in the middle of her bed and looked as if he could care less the New Year would ring in in a few short hours. “And Cleo’s coming with Lili. She’ll stay with you.”

"You're going off to have champagne and all sorts of fun food while I have to stay here and dog and catsit?"

This time Bogie did raise his head with a curled upper lip and snarl.

'Yeah, well, you'll probably go out and find yourself a dog to hump while I'm stuck here listening to everyone shout "Happy New Year" and doing the kissy face thing. What've I got?" Horace marched across the dresser surface, only barely avoiding kicking perfume bottles into the air but aware the consequences weren't worth the crime. Not when Stasi's best friend was an expert in revenge spells and Stasi would let Blair loose on him. He may be a gargoyle, but he wasn't stupid.

Stasi ignored his mutterings and stuck him in a drawer while she dressed. He was still complaining as he watched Maggie, Declan and Lili arrive with Jazz, Nick, Trev, and Jake on their heels.

Cleo, Lili’s arrogant Persian looked Horace up and down with her usual regal disdain.

“What should I do with him?” she asked, prowling the kitchen. “Where’s the catnip wine?”

“Forget the catnip wine and behave,” Lili warned her.

"Oh no," the feline snarled, twitching her plush tail. "If I have to spend the evening with it I want magnums of catnip wine."

"No catnip wine!" all the witches shouted, aware what the addictive drink did to the cat.

“Ladies,” the men intoned as one, staring at their watches even as they admired the gorgeous witches.

“Be good,” Stasi told Horace as they left the apartment. .

"You'll be sorry!" he shouted after them.

"There's pretzels in the cupboard!" Stasi called back to him.

"Pretzels. Big friggin' deal. I get crunchy salty twists while all over the place midnight madness is going on." Horace skidded to a stop and ran back to the back door. He smiled as he watched Stasi and Blair drive off.

*****

"Some guys don't understand boundaries and a New Year's kiss doesn't mean a tonsillectomy," Stasi grumbled as Trev drove the SUV down Moonstone Lake's main street leading to the building that housed her and Blair's shops and second floor apartment. The others had headed for the nearby resort where they rented rooms for the night. "What is this?" She slowed down at the cars lining the road and lights flaring from the building on the corner. A building that shouldn't be that lit up.

Blair leaned forward. "Your shop is open!"

“Stasi!” Trev warned as his witch hopped out of the vehicle, running over to her lingerie boutique's front door that stood open while women roamed in and out.

"Great sales in there and they're even serving champagne!" One woman walked out with an armful of bags. "75% off!"

Stasi's voice strangled inside her throat as she stared at her shop sadly depleted of stock while women, obviously coming back from parties elsewhere on the mountain, had stopped for a midnight madness sale.

A smiling Horace sauntered out of the dressing room behind a shapely brunette. He didn't look the least bit guilty as Stasi loomed over him.

"What have you done?" Magick flew around her like a tornado. Trev stood a fair distance back so he wouldn’t be caught up in the insanity.

Horace shrugged. "I told you not to leave me alone."

Have a magickal New Year!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T16:35:00.001-08:00

May you all have a fantastic holiday. And that Santa brings you the perfect item!

Hugs Linda and Barney along with Jazz, Stasi, Blair, Maggie, and Lili. And yes, Fluff and Puff, Horace, Bogie, Elle and Cleo, who you'll meet next month!

A Vampire's Holiday Hell

2011-12-21T00:01:00.000-08:00

When it comes to gift shopping, many men would rather poke their eyes out with a stick and Nick, Jazz's vampire honey, is no different as you can see.

"Have a wonderful Christmas!" one perky clerk chirped.

"Only fourteen shopping days left!" Another had to chime in.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!

I saw Santa kissing Santa Claus.

All I want for Christmas is ---

"Peace and quiet," Nick growled, literally, as he prowled the mall from hell. He really should have chosen the Magick Mall for his gift shopping needs, but since they don't have a Nordstrom, Sephora or Victoria's Secret, he was screwed and doomed to shop at the mall that offered all three and more since he doubted Jazz would appreciate receiving a check or even gift cards. Not to mention reloading her Starbucks card wouldn't go over too big either. No, he had to vampire up and do this thing.

He hadn't celebrated the holidays in decades and couldn't remember if he and Jazz ever had, but he vowed he'd do what it took to do it this year, even if he began to think a stake through the heart wouldn't be all that bad after all.
And what idiots are at a mall at eleven o'clock at night?! Other than him, that is. And all for those holiday bargains. The late night shopping hours were great for him since he was a vampire, although he could venture out during the day when it was cloudy. But we're talking sunny California and lately, December was more like July. Hence, his showing up now.

He hated shopping. He tended to order his clothing on line and have them delivered. But he doubted that Jazz would appreciate the personal touch, although he did find something for Krebs on line and even an elegant dog bed for Fluff and Puff that he knew they'd enjoy reclining on when they were on Jazz's feet. He even picked up a few DVDs for Irma's collection.

Now was the most difficult, yet interesting, shopping chore ahead of him.
"Would you like to try our new perfume, Midnight Madness, for your lady's pleasure?" One clerk asked, holding out a crystal bottle.

He reared back and just barely kept his fangs hidden. No way he could tell her he could smell that one and more.
"No thanks, but I may be back." He knew Jazz loved different perfumes to wear according to her mood and that one should work for her.

And what did Nick learn? That Sephora held more smelly stuff than his enhanced senses could handle. That he could see why Jazz spent a small fortune on skin and body products and he REALLY WANTED THE HADES OUT OF THERE.

Victoria's Secret was another hellish trek as overeager clerks were only too happy to assist him and he didn't think it was because they were thinking of sales. Not when he kept finding notes with names and phone numbers tucked into his jacket pocket. He winced at the grand total, but the idea of Jazz modeling the colorful silk chemises and thongs he picked up helped soothe the pain.
By the time Nick left the noise and mayhem of the mall and walked out to his Jeep Wrangler, he experienced something he hadn't felt in centuries.

He had the headache of all headaches and the knowledge the way things were going he'd be doing this again on Jazz's birthday.

And The Winner Is!

2011-12-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

Random generator chose Sharon Baker!

Congratulations Sharon! You've won the two books!

Email me your snail mail info at contact at lindawisdom dot com.

Linda

Horace Goes Yule Shopping

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

"Where did all these new people to buy presents for come from?" Horace grumbled as he surveyed his shopping list. "Like I'm made of money." He thought of the bag of gold coins he had secreted away on his stone person that he hoped to use mostly on himself and not others.

Looked like that wasn't going to happen.Gargoyles tended not to wear clothing with pockets. Actually, gargoyles didn't wear clothing at all, so secreting the bag wasn't easy and wise to never ask them just where it might be. Although Horace did sport a jaunty purple and gold knitted scarf wrapped around his throat. Since he was cursed to be grayish stone, he liked to look colorful when he could.

The Magick Mall was as colorful as the shops on either side of the stone road with fragrant spices scenting the air that even drifted from one color to the other like a never-ending rainbow.

Horace rubbed his horns in thought as he traveled down the main road of Dragon Lane that forked at the end with a 100-foot fiery fountain. What else do you expect from a road named Dragon Lane?

"Stasi gets wyrm weave silk shawl, Blair, one of those funky pieces of jewelry from Fastan's Jewelers," he muttered, pausing every so often to look inside a shop window. The warm yeasty scent of zerxe bread drifted out of the bakery and reminded him he hadn't eaten since he came to the magickal plain that offered every item known to wizard, witch and sorcerers the world over. "Guess Jazz wouldn't appreciate thong underwear. Come to think of it, Nick might. Nah, he'd just try to strangle me with it."

The Magick Mall was one of the few places Horace could visit and not worry about being stared at. Gargoyles that walked and talked were plentiful here along with every creature known to man and many they'd never seen nor would they if the creatures had their way about it.

"Hey, baby, so what do you look like without all the robes?" He grinned at a shapely witch who passed by him. As one who appreciated the female form, even more so when he hung out in one of the dressing rooms in Stasi's lingerie boutique, he never let a good looking female pass him by without offering up an opinion. He left the less than good looking ones alone after one crone covered him with a nasty smelling slime that he couldn't get off for a good month.

She cast him a glare, and luckily didn't cast anything else.

"Treats for Bogie," he continued reading his list. "Polish for Felix," he named Blair's retro Kit-Kat clock that not only kept excellent time, but enjoyed offering an opinion whether it was wanted or not. "Bunny slipper shampoo for Fluff and Puff. At least I don't have to shop for Irma and Sirius." He stopped and studied a shop sign that read they had the latest gadgets for the recently deceased. "The old lady isn't even close to recently deceased."

Since Horace hadn't been to the Magick Mall for some months, he was determined to enjoy his day before he got down to serious shopping. Plus, there were a lot of new shops and items that tempted him to investigate.

"I'll get their gifts next," he vowed, ducking into the bakery for a thick slice of bread warm out of the oven and a tankard of ale.

And after that, Horace found himself in a gaming hall, betting on which crimson midnight roach would reach the finish line first and having a bit of slap and tickle with a sexy female gargoyle.

Before he knew it the day was almost over and he still hadn't picked any gifts and his sack of gold was a lot lighter.

"Oh man." He ducked down another road and peered in shop windows, looking at those that advertised major sales.It wasn't until he reached the last shop that a brightly colored window display caught his eye."Perfect!" He ran inside before anyone else saw it.

*****

"Wait 'til you see what I found!" Horace announced, dragging a heavy canvas sack behind him.

"What have you been doing?" Stasi asked, hurrying to help him but he waved her off.

"Don't tell me. You went to the Magick Mall," Blair said.

"I got you and Blair the perfect gift. You can share it between your shops." He carefully set the bag upright then lifted it off with a flourish. "Ta da!"

Silence reigned in the shop as Stasi and Blair stared at Horace's find.

"Is that what I think it is?" Blair asked in a low voice.

"Only if you're thinking what I'm thinking," Stasi squeaked. "Horace, why did you buy this?"

"What do you mean? What's wrong with it? How cool is it? A pretty statue that's tall and sort of undulating but with that double base." He beamed with pride.

"It's a penis!" Blair clapped her hands over her mouth.

"We can't have a six foot high penis on display here," Stasi pointed out, sounding as choked as Blair.

"It's not a –" Horace moved backward to get a better look. "Oh wow, it is." He ignored the two witches who made gurgling sounds. "And here I was told it was a modern version of a baby dragon. Maybe they used a baby dragon penis as an example."

He turned around and found Stasi and Blair hunched over and holding back shocked laughter.

"So you're serious? We can't use it in one of the display windows? Maybe if we put a Santa hat on it?"

A Double Celebration!

2011-12-17T11:54:00.001-08:00

Today is my 40th wedding anniversary, but also the 32nd anniversary celebrating the sale of my first two books to Silhouette Romance, Dancer in the Shadows and 14K Beauty.

And what a ride it's been!

I will be releasing Dancer in the Shadows and 14K Beauty early next year as ebooks through Joyride Books. Many more of my backlist books will be up too. So great to see those books have a new life!

To celebrate I'm offering a signed copy of Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend and a signed ARC of A Demon Does it Better to a lucky commenter. Just comment to any December post and you're entered!

The contest will end at midnight tomorrow night and the winner will be announced on Monday Dec. 19.

Linda

Meet Our New Family Member

2011-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Meet Katie.

While she doesn’t look like Barney, she’s also a white mini Schnauzer. Or as the vet said, primarily mini Schnauzer. It doesn't matter since she's our baby.

And a total love.

Katie came to us under wild circumstances.

After the hospice’s butterfly release ceremony in October, we had lunch with a couple of my husband’s co workers and the head of the hospice office. She knew about Barney and mentioned that someone in the office was looking for a home for her mini Schnauzer. My husband started bumping me as in “can we, Mom, can we?”

I called the woman, we chatted for awhile and it was like a sign since her first name is Linda and her last name is Barney. Katie’s name was originally Dani, but too close to sounding like Barney and when I tried names out on her, she liked Katie. Everyone saw it as a sure thing. I reminded everyone it was still up to Barney.

Katie wasn’t too sure at first, but then neither was Barney. After all, he’d been king here for almost two years. Within four days they were chasing each other all over the house and it turned into their playground.

We had Katie groomed, I picked up toys she could consider hers and it’s like she’s always lived here.

While sleeping I’ve got Katie on one side and Barney on the other. Toasty yes, but not easy to move around!

She’s a total love and I also consider her a gift. So far she hasn’t liked having her picture taken, but I hope that will change. And I know I’ll have to catch video of them playing. They can be You Tube stars. :}

How ironic both dogs came to me the way they did. When Barney showed up everyone said he was sent to me since Bogie’s health wasn’t good. And the hospice that took such good care of Mom here at home basically gave me a dog. My angel puppies.

Linda

2011-12-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Merry!

Can you believe it’s that time of year again? I admit I love Christmas. I love the colors, the energy, music, you name it.

After Thanksgiving I’m ready to decorate inside and out. I have some things I do the same every year, but I also like to mix things up. I have pieces to a fun holiday village, some fibre optic pieces, and now with our latest furry critter, Katie, I need to keep a close eye on the plush animals. She seems to think they’re all hers!

It also means pulling out the holiday DVDs. I’m such a sucker for Christmas In Connecticut, original Miracle on 34th Street, and Muppet Christmas Carol among others. And a nice background if I’m not playing music while I bake up cookies and candies to hand out. No way I leave much of that around the house! Way too tempting. Although I do have to check them out.

I have some regular recipes I make every year and always add a few new ones. There have been a few disasters, but it’s still fun. Between that and my Bath and Body Works wallflowers, the house smells yummy!

What about you? What traditions do you have for Christmas? Are you in to decorating and baking? Playing your favorite music and/or movies? And who all loves Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas song?

Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

No matter what, have a wonderful holiday!

While this isn’t a true holiday treat, it is popular among friends and family out here. I make multiple batches of this candy. It’s easy to make and even easier to eat!

Enjoy!

Linda

Choconut Caramel Bars

2 pkg milk chocolate chips
4 tbsp shortening
2 14-oz pkg caramels
4 tbsp water Choconut
2 cups peanuts, chopped

Melt 1 pkg choc. chips and 2 tbsp shortening-takes about a minute or so in microwave. Stir until smooth. Pour into 9x13 foil lined pan. Refrigerate until firm. Melt caramels and water-about 2 to 4 min. in microwave. Stir until smooth. Stir in peanuts. Pour into choc. lined pan, spread evenly, refrigerate until firm. Top with remaining chocolate and refrigerate.

Halve recipe if using 8 in. square pan. Very much like a Snickers bar, actually better!

Holiday Magick

2011-12-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's listing to the right."

"It's straight."

"You call that straight? I called it old man crooked." Jazz shot Krebs a look that said 'fix it or else!'

Her housemate blew out an exasperated breath as he stepped back a few paces and studied the tree. She was right. It was leaning a little too far to the right.

"I'll have to secure the damn thing to the wall," he muttered. "You had to have a ten-foot tree, didn't you?"

"The room cries out for a large tree." She held her arms out to encompass the huge living room that was bright with twinkle lights threaded through green garlands decorated with red velvet bows. Holiday music played in the background.

Krebs grunted as he struggled with the heavy tree. He shot a glare toward the man lounging on the couch. "You could help, you know. Vampire strength. Pick the tree up as if it was a toothpick and all that."

"This is your tradition, not mine." Nick grinned. "Besides, I'm enjoying the show you and Jazz are giving me as you argue about decorations and a tall tree." But he took pity on the human and went over to help steady the tree. "Perhaps someone will add her magick to the tree." He lifted an eyebrow at Jazz.

"What would you guys do without me?" She held her hands out. "Getting close to the date. Want the tree to be long. So stand up straight and stand up strong. Because I said so, damn it!" To go with the holiday spirit her magick left her fingertips in red and green sparkles, traveling to the tree and wrapping it in power. The tree immediately stopped listing to the right. "And no holes in the wall," she told Krebs.

"That works for me. Think you can do the lights too?"

"Putting lights up is guy work! I put up the ornaments and icicles." She held up a silvery strand of tinsel.

Krebs gritted his teeth as Jazz directed the placement of the strands of lights. "I thought this was guy work."

"It is, but you still need to know where they go." She handed him the star tree topper.

"What did you do before you had me to boss around?" Krebs asked.

"I had a three-foot tabletop tree, but this is so much better." Jazz sorted through the ornaments until she found the one she wanted and carefully placed it on a branch.

Fluff and Puff slid into the room, chattering away to themselves. They headed for the red basket filled with candy canes and grabbed one, growling and snapping at each other as they fought over the peppermint treat until it broke in half. Each retreated to an opposite corner to enjoy their booty while keeping an eye on the other to make sure it wasn't taken away from them.

"No, the angel has to go up there." Jazz pointed up and up and up.

Krebs sighed. "I'll get the ladder."

"I can take care of that." Nick levitated to the branch Jazz indicated and carefully hung the ornament.

Between Jazz's direction, Krebs and Nick doing her bidding the tree was decorated from top to bottom.

"Any reason why you couldn't do the witchy thing and just send the ornaments onto the tree?" Krebs asked.

"Sure, but it's not as much fun as making sure they're where they belong. I do great work." She beamed as she studied the tree.

Nick and Krebs exchanged a look. "Who does great work?" They asked in unison.

"I was the brains, you were the brawn." She waved off their words. "It's a beautiful tree."

With the drapes open, the tree was perfectly framed in the huge bay window that faced the street. With icicle lights decorating the house, twinkle lights blanketing the shrubs and lighted lollipops and candy canes along the cement walkway, the house was a holiday confection.

"Let's go outside and see the full effect!" Jazz grabbed the men by the hand and pulled them outside. They stood on the sidewalk to admire the final effect.

"Even prettier than last year," she pronounced.

"I have to admit you do good work." Krebs hugged her.

"Jazz has always loved the holidays," Nick said.

"Especially presents." She looked from one to the other.

"You know the rules. We wait until the morning of December 25 and not one minute sooner. It's cold out here. I'll make Irish coffee," he offered, heading for the front door. "You can drink that, right, Nick?"

"Thankfully, I can." He slipped an arm around Jazz's waist as they walked up the walkway.

"Gross!" Krebs stared at Fluff, or maybe it was Puff. "They ate peppermint and that came out of them?"

Jazz held her nose as she waved her hand through the noxious air that seemed to get worse by the minute. "I should have remembered that peppermint doesn't agree with them."

"I guess we'll be drinking our Irish coffee in the kitchen if not another city." Krebs led the way.

The Winner of A Demon Does It Better ARC Is ...

2011-11-28T14:50:00.001-08:00

Random name generator said Tori Lennox!

Congratulations Tori!

Email me at contact at lindawisdom dot com with your mailing addy.

I'll be giving away another ARC in mid-December and a guest blog with a giveaway is coming up. So stop back to see when.

Linda

Black Friday With Fluff and Puff

2011-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

“Why couldn’t we stay home?” Puff whined from his spot in Jazz’s Marc Jacobs pink leather tote, as she wove her way through the hordes of people that pushed around Jazz.“Because you might come in handy.” Jazz had the grim determination you only saw one day a year. The day after Thanksgiving when serious shoppers came out to do their holiday shopping. She was there armed with credit cards, ready to do what it took to get all her shopping out of the way.Fluff’s ears curved over the top of the bag, then his eyes peeped over, widening at the mob around them. “I’m going back to the car.”Jazz tightened her hold on the bag. “No, you’re not.” She pushed her way into Nordstrom on the quest for the perfect gifts. It wasn’t long before she found a leather jacket for Nick, an even cuter leather jacket for herself, sweaters for Stasi and Blair, a wrap for Thea and she was still going strong.“I want a pretzel,” Puff demanded.“Later.” Jazz’s gaze narrowed as she spied a plum silk top across the store. She made her way there, but someone else saw the top too and there was only the one. “Create a diversion. Trip her,” she muttered, unceremoniously dumping them out of her bag.“Pretzel,” Puff reminded her.“Yeah, yeah.” But her mind was on the prize. The slippers growled their way among the shoppers, who tended to stay out of their way, yet not one screamed or fainted as their magick protected them.Jazz remained behind them, watching the woman destined to lose the top, because IT WAS HERS. She started to throw out a freeze spell, but she made a promise not to use magick when shopping. Sigh! She quickened her steps and practically slid across the floor reaching out for the top the same time as the other woman.“I believe this is mine,” the woman said frostily, practically jerking Jazz off her feet as she pulled on the hanger.“I was here first.” Jazz was happy to see that Fluff and Puff were on either side of her new enemy. She wanted this top, damn it!Just then the woman yelped and released the hanger.Puff slid back, looking proud of himself. “Now I get my pretzel.”“After I finish my shopping.” Jazz glared at the woman who looked ready to pitch into her. “Not getting this top isn’t the end of the world,” she told her before she walked off.“Pretzel!” Puff raised his voice.“You promised!” Fluff added his two cents.“Give it a rest. I said I’ll get you guys pretzels after I finish here. Oooh, pretty!” She squeaked to a stop by a large rack of silk dresses.Fluff and Puff didn’t say another word, but sulked big time as Jazz finished her shopping in the store and added more large shopping bags to her arms.As she exited the store, alarms went off big time.“What the –“ Jazz looked around to see who’d set off the security alarm when a hulkish type man wearing a khaki uniform came up to her.“If you’ll come with me, ma’am,” he said quietly, taking her arm in a hold that said to come with him or else.“What’s the problem?” She so wanted to zap him good, but she knew it wouldn’t be a good idea.“We believe you have items you haven’t paid for.” He steered her toward the offices.“Oh believe me, I paid for everything and have the receipts and depleted charge card to show for it.” If she wasn’t on probation with the Witches Council, she would have used a spell to get out of there without any fuss, but she knew the man was wrong and there was nothing she loved more than showing a man he was wrong. “So what exactly didn’t I pay for?”Once in the office, she set her shopping bags down and looked the part of a disgruntled shopper. After all, she had more sales to plunder! More gifts to buy! And there was that gorgeous dress she saw in the paper that she knew would be perfect on her.The security officer reached into one bag and pulled out two fluffy items.Jazz stared at Fluff and Puff and laughed. “Are you kidding me? They’re mine. I brought them with me for when my feet get tired.” She gestured with her stiletto boots.“Sure, lady. We all don’t believe in taking the price tags off our own items.” He dropped them on the desk, where, damn them, they didn’t move an inch and acted as if they were literal footwear, and picked up a phone. “And we have zero tolerance against shoplifters here.”Jazz picked them up, gasped at the fifty-dollar price tag and glared at them hard enough to cause steam to come out of her ears. “You little shits,” she gritted. “You reveal yourselves now.” Nothing.The guard shook his head and picked up the phone.Ten minutes later, Jazz was escorted out of the office by a police officer. When she glanced over her shoulder at the slippers still lying on the desk, she saw Puff slowly close one eye in a wink and mouth the word pretzel.So a word of warning.If you’re at the mall and see bunny slippers, have a pretzel ready. They prefer the cinnamon sugar ones.

Turkey Day Is Coming!

2011-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

Three days to that fantastic turkey dinner!

Are you ready? Or wondering just what have you put yourself in for?

I want to be one of the witches and hex up dinner. Same with the dirty dishes afterwards. That way I can indulge in a good book. I’d even settle for minions to do it all.

Not that I can complain since we’re going out to dinner this year.

If you get a chance to get some good reading in, more power to you!

To get you in the mood, I’m including a Thanksgiving story about Jazz and Irma.

And for one lucky commenter I’m giving away an advanced reading copy of A Demon Does It Better, my January release. US residents only please. The winner will be chosen from the commenters on Monday morning at 8am, November 28.

And for all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Too bad we don’t all have Irma to oversee our culinary efforts!

"I have to do what?" A horrified Jazz stared at the pale-skinned turkey lying on the counter.
"You have to reach inside the cavity and take out the giblets." Irma peered over her shoulder sending a shock of cold through Jazz’s body.When Jazz broke down and asked Irma to help her cook Thanksgiving dinner, she had no idea it would involve putting her hands inside a raw turkey and pull its guts out. Can you spell euww!She settled for sticking her hands inside two plastic bags before sticking them inside the turkey's butt. She kept her eyes closed and mouth scrunched up as she scooped out the innards."This is disgusting!""Perhaps if you'd cooked more often and not been out there doing witchy things, you'd know what to do in cooking a proper meal.""Spare me from self-righteous spirits," Jazz muttered, dumping the giblets and the neck in the sink. She quickly peeled off the bags and dropped them in the trash."And don't forget to wash your hands thoroughly since you just handled raw poultry."Jazz paused in wiping her hands on her jeans and reached for the hand soap instead."How big is the turkey?" Irma asked, pursing her Tangeed lips. While she now wore clothing designed for this century instead of the last, she still enjoyed some of her 1950s make up.Jazz stared at the pale bird. "Big."Irma sighed. "No, how many pounds.""I don't know. I didn't exactly put it on a scale!""Then look at the wrapper! You determine the time it takes to cook it according to the number of pounds. We always bought our turkeys at the Farris Turkey Ranch. Such beautiful birds too."Jazz ignored Irma reminiscing about the good old days when she was still alive. "Yeah yeah. Okay, the bird is twenty-three pounds since Krebs wants lots of leftovers and Stasi and Blair are coming down for dinner.""Are you stuffing it? If you are, it will take longer to cook.""Stuffing it? I just took stuff out of it!" Witches normally didn't get headaches but Jazz was well on her way to a doozy."And you make up a nice stuffing to put into the turkey cavity. There's cornbread stuffing, oyster, herb. Take your choice.""Then I choose Stove-Top which I can put in the microwave and it doesn't have to go anywhere near a turkey's nether regions.""That's not stuffing! That's pieces of Lord knows what in a box!"Jazz studied the red and yellow box. "The box stays stuffing, it's stuffing."Under Irma's guidance Jazz had the turkey rubbed with butter and herbs, placed in a large electric roaster, and the timer set."Off the counter!" She ordered Fluff and Puff as the bunny slippers scampered up to investigate what was going on. She gave each them of a piece of licorice root for a treat and watched them retreat to a corner of the kitchen."Brown sugar, molasses is nice and miniature marshmallows for the top of the candied yams," Irma told her. "Are you making cranberry sauce?"Jazz held up two cans. "Jellied and whole-berry.""You modern girls rely too much on canned goods. I always bought my cranberries and made my own sauce with ginger and a hint of orange peel." Irma's face seemed to fill the entire screen. "Does that jar say gravy? You can make it from the drippings! You picked up butter and cream for the mashed potatoes, didn't you? And I mean real butter, not that oleo or what you call margarine now. We had to use oleo during the war and it had no taste. Also did you pick up the makings for the green bean casserole? That's a classic dish for Thanksgiving. The French-fried onion strings make it look so fancy. Please don't tell me that tube holds biscuits? I made my biscuits from scratch. Harold said they tasted light as a feather.""Light as a feather biscuits sure didn't keep your husband in line, did it?" Jazz muttered."Maybe if you worried less about eliminating curses you'd have a man to cook for! Look at that! You're not even using real whipped cream for the pumpkin pie."Jazz flicked her fingers at the screen and muted the audio. She smiled at the picture of Irma talking away. "Ah, silence."All too soon, she realized she did need help. She flicked her fingers at the screen again."You are a very rude girl," Irma huffed. "You asked for my help and I was only too willing to give it, yet on a whim you shut me off. Perhaps I should return to my program. Rachael Ray is coming on soon. She knows how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner."Jazz briefly considered zapping Irma back to the garate, but since she needed the spirit's help, she didn't dare. Irma was a ghost who could hold a grudge with the best of them and Jazz wasn't even halfway through preparing dinner. She looked at the cans, jars and bowls scattered across the counters. Nothing had ever looked so intimidating.And all because she wanted to do something nice for Krebs this year and give him a family-type dinner."Fine, I'm sorry I muted you. I lost my mind." Which she had in planning this dinner."I forgive you." A lit cigarette appeared between Irma's white-gloved fingers. "Now, you need to melt some butter to use in basting the turkey."Jazz's head spun with the rapid-fire instructions Irma shot at her. And every time she started a new task she was tempted to use her magick."No wonder Samantha Stevens kept breaking her word in not using her magick," she muttered, mentally envisioning the potato peeler under six feet of concrete.By the time the timer for the turkey went off, Jazz was ready for a nap."Where's our feast?" Krebs asked, coming into the kitchen with Jazz's sister witches, Stasi and Blair on his heels. "Do you want me to carry the turkey into the dining room?"She waved her hand at the roaster. "Knock yourself out."Except as Krebs lifted the turkey out of the roaster it looked more pink than golden."What did you do to it?" Irma demanded from the TV screen.Jazz was horrified. "I cooked it! 5 ½ hours at 225.""You cook it at 325!" Irma shouted. "That bird is still raw."With a flick of the wrist, Jazz shut off the TV, faced the turkey, saying "Forget the book. Forget the look. Damn turkey needs to be cooked, because I say so damn it!"In the wink of an eye, the turkey turned a well-cooked golden brown. Just as fast the food disappeared from the kitchen, leaving it clean and neat and reappeared on the dining room table.Jazz snatched up a dark green bottle and marched into the other room. "I'll bring the wine."Hopefully your Thanksgiving will be filled with good food, good friends and family and maybe a glass or four of wine.

Linda

And Your Little Dog Too!

2011-10-09T12:11:00.001-07:00

“What do you think?” Stasi stepped back from the large bay window to better study the display she’d designed for the upcoming holiday. She brushed her hands down her bold turquoise and black skirt with its spangled scarf hem that brushed her black high-heeled boots. A softer turquoise cowl neck sweater completed the look. She recently added gold highlights to her brown hair that was pulled back with a black band.

Isn’t It Romantic? was in stylized gold script lettering on the overhanging sign.

Blair also stepped back. Her forest green boat-necked sweater and matching leggings gave her an Audrey Hepburn look. She admired the black sheer nightgown with cobweb sleeves draped on a delicate hanger. An ebony glitter half mask was draped from invisible fingers, courtesy of Stasi’s magick, along with black marabou high heels slides. On the other side was a pumpkin orange silk bustier seeming to be slung over an ivory velvet bench. The small vanity table showed several romance novels and a crystal flacon of perfume. Orange gold and black sparkles danced in the display finishing what was a combination of saucy and elegant.

“It’s perfect,” Blair pronounced. “I hope you put away that nightgown for me.”

“And me.”

The two witches shared grins, aware their respective shapeshifter and wizard hotties wouldn’t probably allow them to wear the sexy gown for long.

Stasi moved a few steps to take a look at Blair’s display window. Blair’s love of retro showed strong in her shop, Blast From The Past. She use an old-fashioned fence for the background, putting up vintage pictures of black cats, witches against a full moon, and bubbling cauldrons. Dolls dressed in Halloween costumes filled the window along with a tiny red wagon loaded with teddy bears. A boy doll dressed as a ghost appeared to be pulling it.

“I can’t believe we’re doing it again,” Blair moaned. “Every year we tell them we won’t go with the usual Halloween crap.”

“And every year we give in to Agatha.” Stasi named the mayor’s wife who was a mighty force onto her own. “She’s even worse now that the elves are on her side. They volunteered to run around the town as goblins.”

Blair wrinkled her nose in distaste. “That just means they’ll revert back to their nasty original selves.”

The two witches returned to Stasi’s shop and walked in, immediately heading for the coffee pot in the back. Stasi poured them each a cup of aromatic chocolate cinnamon and brought out the plate of snickerdoodle cookies.
“Oh, good!” Now that food was available, Horace, Stasi’s pain in the butt gargoyle, swooped down to snatch up a treat. His horns practically rotated in orgasmic joy as he gobbled up his coffkie.

“One,” Stasi warned him even as he snuck a second.

“Ouch!” Horace glared at Blair as he rubbed his scorched tail. She smiled back and as blew on her forefinger that she used to zap him.

“There you are!”

The witches closed their eyes and muttered a spell for patience as the mighty force known as Agatha Pierce rolled into the store. Her husband, Floyd, might be mayor, but it was common knowledge that it was Agatha that ruled the town.

The woman steamed in like a Sherman tank, her black wool suit sporting a large orange zircon pumpkin pin on the lapel. Chu-Chu, her bad-tempered golden-color Pekinese that resided in a large leather tote. The small dog popped his head over the top and lifted his lip at Horace who snarled back.

“Oh my!” Agatha stared at the gargoyle and moved back as if afraid he’d attack her. “Is that thing …?”

Stasi nodded.

“Did it always …?” She rotated her finger in a silent question about Horace living and breathing and not a statue as he usually pretended to be when anyone else came into the boutique.

Blair nodded.

Agatha patted her beloved pet’s head. “Don’t worry, darling, Mumsie will protect you from that ugly thing,” she cooed.

“Who’re you calling ugly you --!” Horace knew when to quit when he saw Stasi starting to mouth a spell. “I’m gone.” And he was.

“Your book order came in, Agatha.” Stasi moved into the stock room and returned with a bag.

“Thank you, my dear.” She accepted the bag. “Just charge my credit card as always.”

Blair almost choked when she saw the note stapled to the bag before Agatha tore it off. It seemed the esteemed mayor’s wife was addicted to very racy novels. Who knew?

“I am so glad you are participating with our Halloween festivities this year,” Agatha almost gushed. “As always we’ll be having cemetery tours, ghost walks.”

“And won’t the ghosts love that,” Blair muttered.

“It’s not as if they’re real,” the woman insisted then faltered. Even after all this time, she was never sure if the two witches were teasing her or speaking the truth. To date, she never dared ask. “It’s for effect, you understand. The Ladies League met this afternoon and voted on adding a new feature to this year’s Halloween festivities.”

Stasi and Blair’s smiles froze.

“New feature?” Stasi finally found her tongue.

Agatha’s head bobbed up and down, almost dislodging the elaborate curls on her head.

“A play,” she announced.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Blair muttered under her breath, staring to step backwards but Stasi’s grip on her arm didn’t allow her to escape.

“Don’t make me freeze you,” Stasi said grimly.

“What kind of play?” Blair asked, already dreading the worst.

The woman’s smile didn’t falter as she looked from one to the other. “Our own version of Wizard of Oz. After all, we have our very own magickal residents, don’t we?” She patted Chu-Chu’s head as he continued to growl in Horace’s direction. “I thought that Stasi, you could ask your lovely young man to play the wizard, and Blair, wouldn’t Jake make an adorable Cowardly Lion?” She glanced at Horace who was glaring at the nasty tempered dog. “Does it get any taller? Perhaps as the Tin Man? And with you two being wi—“ she paused at the looks of horror on Stasi and Blair’s faces. “Well, being such an integral part of the community you’d wish to be a part of the play. And my own darling Chu-Chu could play Toto.” In response to his name the little darling passed noxious gas.

“Oh ew!” Horace held his nose.

“Agatha.” Blair took one step forward while Agatha wisely took two back. “There is no way Stasi will sport green skin and wear an ugly black gown.”

“Me? What about you wearing it?” Stasi turned on her friend. Her eyes glowed gold with anger.

Sparks of magick shot up over both witches.

Agatha’s eyes widened as she realized staying in the vicinity might not be a good idea. She started backing up even faster.

Just not fast enough.

“Out!” Blair ordered.

“And your little dog too,” Stasi added.

The mayor’s wife whirled around and ran for the door. She barely crossed the threshold when the two witches smiled and held out their hands.

“Ideas in play. Not good to say. Find out what it’s like to be witch for a day!”

A tornado of purple and pink sparks flew through the air and enveloped Agatha. Her screams were loud enough to shatter glass as she was swept up into the air. A few moments later she was gently deposited on the sidewalk.

Except now, her skin was a dark green, a hairy mole decorated her pointed chin and hawk like nose. Her black silk suit morphed into a gauzy gown along with pointy hat and old fashioned high button shoes. Even her designer bag had turned into a broom and Chu-Chu was now even ugily as a monkey flying around her head.

Agatha stared at them with her mouth open. Whatever she planned to say came out as a clichéd cackle. A flash of fury crossed her eyes as she stomped off, broom in hand.

Fellow shopkeepers appeared in the doorways to watch the show and tourists strolling the sidewalk seemed to think it was part of a Halloween show.

“Don’t worry, Agatha, it will be gone by morning!” Stasi called after her, laughter bubbling up.

The moral of the story is don’t assume a witch likes your ideas.

In Memory of Thelma Randall -- My Mom

2011-10-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

Sadly, my mom, Thelma Randall, passed away on September 18.

It’s been a hard year for us as her health started decline the beginning of this year until she went into hospice care this past July. All I can say about the Visiting Nurse Association is that they were fantastic and I can’t thank them enough for all they did for Mom.

Even with her health problems, Mom was a great friend to all, ‘Mom’ to my friends, and interested in what goes on.

Her service was last Friday where family and friends gathered to share their memories.

There were tears, there was laughter, and I know Mom would have enjoyed it all. Sad thing is, because I couldn’t find her discharge papers from the Marine Corps I couldn’t have an honor guard for her. The funeral home did their part and Facebook friends offered up wonderful suggestions. The home gave us a flag and I asked my FB friends to shout out ‘Semper Fi’ during the time of her service. And they did.

Below is what I spoke at her service.

Mom was a great cheerleader for authors.

When I was a brand spanking new author and told the world (okay not literally) what I did Mom smiled and suggested I not sound like I was bragging.

A few years later we were out having lunch. Mom looked across the restaurant and saw a woman reading one of my books. She hustled over there, told the woman her daughter had written that book, and motioned me over to introduce us and even asked the woman if she wanted me to sign the book.

I guess I didn’t need to brag. Mom did it for me. :}

I’ll miss Mom, but I know she’s always with me. And that I kept my promise to her. She didn't go into the hospital or a nursing home. She was at home where she belonged.

Memories of Mom

When I thought about writing something I realized what popped into my head was what I call snapshot memories. Bits and pieces of things that happened over the years.

One thing was Mom’s love for the marines. She might have only been in the womens reserve for a year during WWII but it impacted her life. She made lifelong friends as a result. She was a charter member of the womens military memorial and the women marines association. And yes, I’ll say what always embarrassed her. She dated Tyrone Powers’s crew chief.

She was first rejected when she went to join up. The doctor was going to say no because she had mild scoliosis. She told him her dad had been in the navy, had three daughters and she considered herself her father’s son. She made it in. If she hadn’t married Dad, she would have made it her career. Personally, I’m glad she married Dad.

Pride in her mother and grandmother who were driving forces in making Mom the woman she was.

My memories of Mom are a combination of laughter and tears.

I remember Mom making me sit in the car’s back seat because our shepherd mix, Skipper, insisted on the front passenger seat.

Mom horrified when a rattlesnake almost bit me but Skipper got to it first. Maybe that’s why Skipper insisted on the front seat.

Mom wearing her favorite lavender print halter dress and lavender leather high heels slides that I liked to try on and always fell over in.

Sitting nearby with a book in her hands while Dad and I fished for rainbow trout.

During same fishing trips going out to the outhouse in the late night and hoping that bear nearby wouldn’t decide we might make a nice snack.

Mom insisting a Toni home perm was good for me. It wasn’t.

Understanding that her daughter is a dreamer and indulging her love of books.

Laid up in bed and insisting ten year old me go outside to find out the source of the loud crash in the garage where Dad was working on his 1957 Bel Air and find out why Dad was swearing up a storm. The car was soon gone and Dad mumbled a lot every time he saw a blue Bel Air.

Explaining to me that I probably wouldn’t wear glasses all my life. Yeah Mom.

Introduced me to See’s chocolates. Thanks Mom!

Going to the drive in on Friday nights when Dad was away on business trips.

Our girls only Thanksgiving dinner at Knotts Berry Farm when Dad was snowed in in Montana.

Handling things after an earthquake, mopping up water when water flooded one of the bedrooms, and evacuating during a forest fire.

Patiently explaining to me that yes, I was having a Christmas wedding, but no, I shouldn’t wear red or green.

Mom going out with me when I was learning to master driving stick shift after Dad and I returned home yelling at each other. Don’t even ask.

Her adopting all my friends as her girls. Always asking about them, interested in what they were doing. Sending them love and virtual hugs if they needed them.

I miss Mom’s teasing when I forget to set up my coffee and whimper when I see the empty pot in the morning.

Even with all her health problems, Mom never faltered. She was an inspiration to many.

Mom was love, strength, faith and my best friend.

I’ll miss you Mom, but I understand why you had to leave me.

Join Me At Literal Addicted!

2011-07-08T16:59:00.001-07:00

On Saturday July 9, I’ll be at Literal Addiction with a live chat. I hope you’ll join me.

Also check out the awesome fangear that Michelle designed!

http://www.literaladdiction.com
http://www.literaladdiction.com/contact-us.php
http://www.literaladdiction.com/fun-stuff.php/

Happy 4th!

2011-07-03T10:09:00.003-07:00

A Happy Fourth of July to you all!

What do you have planned for the holiday? Barbecue, visiting friends, going to the beach, a park, the mountains? Or even staying around the house and being lazy, perhaps with a book?

With it so hot I see lots of cold drinks coming my way. And with it so hot this weekend we're debating whether to barbecue. Even Barney's happy staying inside where it's cool.

Have a great holiday everyone!

Linda

A Perilous Affair Out Again

2011-05-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

Inspiration for our books come from many sources.

In April of 1985 a friend and I sat in a darkened theater and watched the incredible love story of Ladyhawke. A curse cast onto lovers leaving them together yet apart. She has a hawk during the daylight hours and he as a wolf roaming the nights.

I wasn’t writing paranormal then and it wasn’t all that popular, but the idea of lovers parted in such a way had my imagination going full bore. I knew I’d have to write my version of Ladyhawke. In fact, the friend sitting with me said she knew that look on my face and that a book was going to follow.

Since I wrote contemporary I thought of two lovers who worked for a government agency. The type who were soulmates, but something horrific happened to separate them. Her knowing it was for the best and he thinking she was killed.

Until they come together a few years later except she has a new name, new face, and even a new personality. The question is will he still recognize what’s in her heart? And is there a chance that the cold-blooded killer who had been searching for her would find her again and force her to face her worst fears.

When my agent read the synopsis she called me up and screamed “I didn’t know you could write romantic suspense!” Clueless me said “I didn’t either.” I was writing about two long lost lovers. To this day, this book is one of my favorites such as Ladyhawke is still one of my favorite movies.

Even better, I was able to give A Perilous Affair a new life. Look for two lovers, a man standing in their way, a villain who wants our heroine dead, and yes, romantic suspense I didn’t know I could write. :}

Below you’ll find where the book is carried. I hope you’ll give it a try.

A PERILOUS AFFAIR (Dell Candlelight Supreme published 1987)
She had a new name, a new face, a new identity – even a new personality. For ex-agent Mari Chandler, the past was dead and gone. Only her love for Reid Morgan refused to die. She went back to Mexico determined to let that love go. What had brought Reid to the same place at the same time with the same idea? He thought her a stranger, but soon there were the same burning kisses, the same deep, hungry needs. To surrender her secret would put both their lives in peril. Once they’d been in mortal danger … danger that still lurked in the shadows. Mari knew their lives depended on her playing a cool game, but how could she extinguish the blaze of love that ignites her heart?

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Perilous-Affair/Linda-Wisdom/e/2940012475831/?itm=1&USRI=a+perilous+affair

http://www.amazon.com/A-Perilous-Affair-ebook/dp/B0051QQH00/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1306512253&sr=1-1

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61366

www.backlistebooks.com

Deadline for Brenda Novak's Auction for Diabetes Nearing!

2011-05-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

May 31 is the last day for the Brenda Novak's auction to benefit diabetes research.

She's tireless in hosting an auction with the proceeds to benefit this sad disease.

I have donated a paranormal manuscript critique along with a witchy tote bag of goodies.

I hope you'll check out all the offerings. There is so much there!

http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/AuctionHelp.taf?S=N&R=2&C=2&DA=0&m=3&return=50&sort=1&st=1&_start=1

Mega BacklistEBooks Sale Going On!

2011-05-16T09:39:00.001-07:00

I'm still putting up more of my backlist books and many of us are now having some great sales through Smashwords.

It's a great way to reconnect with older books you've missed and even finding new ones! Visit our website to obtain the coupon codes for Smashwords.

HUGE #eBook sale: #Books by bestselling, award-winning authors 25-100% off! http://backlistebooks.com/specials.html

Brenda Novak's Annual Auction to Benefit Diabetes

2011-05-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Brenda Novak is not just a fantastic author, but also tireless in her quest to do what she can to work toward a cure for diabetes.

Every year she hosts an auction with the proceeds to benefit this sad disease.

I have donated a paranormal manuscript critique along with a witchy tote bag of goodies.

I hope you'll check out all the offerings. There is so much there!

http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/AuctionHelp.taf?S=N&R=2&C=2&DA=0&m=3&return=50&sort=1&st=1&_start=1

Curses ... Spoiled Again!

2011-04-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

Jasper, Nebraska
February 2, 1957

Jazz was in love. Absolute lust-filled, hormone-jumping, panting love. She stared at the aqua and white Ford Thunderbird with the same covetousness she gave her favorite See’s chocolates.
Too bad there was a cranky looking woman seated in the passenger seat.
“So, ah, Fred Merton over at the Saveway said you can do something about things like this.” Harold Carmichael, a ruddy-faced man in his late 50s shifted from one foot to the other. He turned back to stare at the car with a similar look of lust but his expression was also coated with frustration, a hint of fear, and a smidgeon of anger. Who knew one man could show all those emotions at once? “You have to understand I don’t hold for nonsense about curses and such, but …” he shook his head.
But then why wouldn’t he when his wife didn’t just kill herself in his brand new car, but also managed to haunt it?
Probably a good thing Harold couldn’t see his dead wife glaring daggers at him.
But that was why Jazz was here. The 600+ year young witch was gifted at eliminating curses. Have witch will travel and banish all those nasty hexes that mess up your life.
“What do you notice about your car, Mr. Carmichael?” Jazz asked, glancing around at the garage that had tools neatly placed on the walls and a floor that looked clean enough to eat off of. At 5’8” she towered over the portly man with a bad comb over and dressed in an ill-fitting brown suit topped by a heavy coat against the late winter weather. Her nose twitched at the strong aroma of too much bay rum aftershave.
He stared down at the ground. “It does things,” he said, clearly uncomfortable with the subject.
“Things,” she repeated, realizing this job wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d hoped.
Wasn’t it bad enough she was stranded in Nebraska, of all places? Or that her job at the A&W Drive In would end after one night. She figured the grabby mechanic would recover from non-stop hiccups in about a day or so. Maybe. But now she needed money so she could head down to the Greyhound station and buy herself a bus ticket out of this burg.
“What are you? His new chippie? Wasn’t Lorraine enough?” The ghost in the car demanded.
Jazz knew enough to ignore the spirit since Harold couldn’t see her. Guessing by his uneasy manner, she had a good idea he could sense something wasn’t right.
“The Reverend Morris says my car is possessed,” Harold’s words came out in a rush. “He came over one night last week and prayed over it then ran out when the horn wouldn’t stop honking and the headlights turned on and off.” He jumped when both happened. “Do you see what I mean?” He pointed a shaky finger at the vehicle. “Now I paid good money for that car and I want whatever devil’s in it out. Fred said he heard you do things like that.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” the gray-haired wraith spoke up. “I didn’t die in this car to let that bleached blonde floozy Lorraine Bigelow park her cheap perfumed behind in here.” She crossed her arms in front of her generous bosom. “I don’t know what you are, young lady, but I suggest you leave right now.” She glared at her. “That man deserves to be haunted and I’ll do it until the day he draws his dyin’ breath.”
Harold frowned and leaned closer to Jazz. “Can whatever’s in there hear me?” he whispered loudly. “Is it dangerous?”
“I’m dead, not deaf!” Irma shrieked, her powdered cheeks flaring a bright red.
Jazz nodded and turned to Harold. “I can understand your worries, Mr. Carmichael. Just as you must understand that what I do is highly specialized work.” And something no mundane human being should see. “Why don’t you go on in and wait in the house for me? I should be finished in about thirty minutes.”
“Never!” the ghost snorted.
“Harold! Is everything all right out there?” A woman’s nasal voice cut through the air. “Can she do anything for the car?”
Harold divided his attention between the unseen woman, Jazz, and the car.
“Go,” she advised. “I’ll come in when I’m finished.
The man wasted no time exiting the garage.
Once she heard the back door slam, Jazz turned back to the car and its spirit occupant.
“So I gather you’re the wife and you have a reason to haunt the car.”
“I’m not sitting out here for my health, you know!” she said tartly in her flat Midwestern twang. “I am Irma Carmichael and I will not allow that tart to move into my house. Lorraine has been sniffing after my Harold for the past fifteen years after her Edgar died of a heart attack. I wouldn’t be surprised if she managed to kill him somehow. Edgar was never going to get promoted over at the railroad yard and she saw her moving up in the social circle if she nabbed Harold. He owns his own hardware store, but it was my family’s money that helped him get started. Harold wouldn’t have even a little of what he has now if it wasn’t for me.”
Jazz looked around and found a stool, sitting down as she folded her wool coat around her knees. She whispered a warming spell into her hands as she rubbed them briskly together.
“So you’re Irma and you killed yourself in the car along with cursing your spirit into it.” Her moss green eyes ran over the car as she imagined herself driving down the highway on a sunny day with the top down, the wind blowing through her coppery red hair. She even thought she could smell the rich scent of the leather upholstery.
What good was being a witch if she couldn’t hex up a gorgeous car like this? She wondered how many decades Eurydice would add to her banishment if she conjured up this gorgeous T-Bird’s twin.
“And Lorraine in there is taking over,” she figured out.
Irma nodded. Her Tangeed colored lips narrowed in anger, but tears sparkled in her eyes. “Harold called to tell me he was working late at the hardware store,” she said. “And here I had made a nice pot roast that day, so I fixed it up to take down to him. I don’t like him eating at the Kountry Kitchen. Ruby, who does the cooking there, looks at the money and not at the flavor. Well, I went in through the back door of the store and there was Harold and Lorraine,” she stopped and swallowed hard. “They were having carnal relations right there on Harold’s desk when he wouldn’t even kiss me when I’d be down there! He said it wasn’t businesslike! Yet, there he was with his pants down and her dress up over her head.” Her double chin wobbled. She sniffed loudly and gathered herself together. “So what are you?”
“I’m a witch. I am,” she insisted, when she saw the spirit's skepticism.
“Witches are evil, so says Preacher Morris.”
“But he couldn’t get you out of the car, could he? And I can.” Jazz reached down into her coveted Chanel quilted leather bag and pulled out candles, and a vial of water charged with cedar and oils along with several crystals.
“You will not use those wicked items on me!” Irma insisted with wide eyes. "I"m a good Christian woman."
“Then leave the car.”
She stiffened. “I will not! As long as I reside in Harold’s car he will not allow that wanton woman to ride with her.” She smirked. “She tried once and said she didn’t feel right.”
Jazz grinned. “While you probably couldn’t make her feel anything, you made her feel uncomfortable.”
“Exactly.”
The witch felt bad for the wife who not only lost her husband’s affections, but took her life at the same time.
“Why did you curse yourself into the car when you died, Irma?” She didn’t believe in tiptoeing around when talking to a wraith. There was no doubt that Irma knew she was dead.
Irma faced straight ahead, her fingers tight on the strap of her navy patent leather purse.
“I was so angry at Harold for being with Lorraine,” she said. “I was hurtin’ and I wanted him to hurt too. He’d just bought this car and treated it better than he treated me even though I’d been cookin’ and cleanin’ for him for the better part of thirty-four years. We got married the day after I graduated from Jasper High. I swear if he could have brought this thing into the house he would have.” Her fingers twitched. “I thought about coming in here and droppin’ a match on it.”
Jazz nodded, understanding the need for revenge. “Too bad you didn’t know me back then. I could have referred you to someone who would have made both of them suffer a lot.”
“I did make him suffer,” Irma told her. “I came out here, closed the garage door, and turned on the engine. I knew he wouldn’t be home any time soon. I told myself he’d never be rid of me now and he’d never know peace with Lorraine. And then I went to sleep.” Her forehead crinkled. “Funny thing about that. When I woke up, I was sitting here in this ugly dress that I’m sure Lorraine chose. She never had any taste and it’s not like Harold would know what to buy. And I couldn’t leave the car.” Her lips stretched in a pleased smile. “Harold came out here to start up the car and I could hear him complaining how cold it was. Even the heater didn’t warm him up. It took me awhile, but I learned I could honk the horn and turn on the lights. Preacher Morris came out and prayed over the car. Can you imagine how much Harold must have paid into the church building fund for that? He told Harold the car was possessed and he needed to get rid of it.”
“And why I’m here.” Jazz stood up and started to take off her coat then changed her mind. She was getting out of Nebraska as fast as possible. From now on she was living where it was sunny and warm.
She smudged the garage with white sage then set out her crystals and the charged water.
“Past time to grieve. Best to leave.” She placed her palms on the icy cold metal and projected her magick into it. “Move on, go away, and do as I say. Your time is past, so make it fast. Because I say so, damn it!”
“I do not allow cursing in my house!” Irma shouted as the crackles of power covered the car.
Jazz smiled as she felt the swirls of magick surround the ghost.
One un-haunted car and a nice fee to get her out of Nebraska.
*****
“What do you mean you can’t get it out of the car?” Harold’s roly-poly body practically bounced around the garage. “Fred said you could do it!”
“And I can.” Jazz glared at Irma who smirked back at her. “Your wife doesn’t want to leave the car. I’ve done everything I can and it didn’t work.” And here she had a 100% success rate in eliminating curses too. Didn’t this woman understand it was time to move on?
“What am I supposed to do?”
“You can either sell the car or put up with your wife haunting it.”
“Do you know how long I had to wait for it?” he yelped. “That car is my pride and joy.”
“I’m sure Lorraine would love to hear that,” Irma sniffed.
“These things happen.” Jazz gritted her teeth. “Now as to my fee.”
“I’m not paying you a dime,” he sneered. “You were supposed to get that woman out of my car and you didn’t.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t care what Fred says, you’re nothing more than a swindler. I should just call Walter up at the sheriff’s office and let him deal with you.”
Jazz’s red hair was the perfect indicator of her Irish temper. She narrowed her gaze at him as she stared down the man. “And I say you will pay.”
“Ha!” Irma bounced up and down on the seat. “You show him, witch! Use your magick and make him a toad. I don’t want the kind a princess could kiss and turn him into a prince.”
Harold looked from Jazz to the car. He looked uneasy. “Is she talking?”
“Of course, she’s talking, you idiot!” Irma shouted, trying to throw her handbag at her husband, but failing.
Jazz smiled. “Irma doesn’t want to leave, Harold and I’d say she’s got enough revenge in mind she can make your life miserable for the rest of your life. I’d say you only have one choice.”

February 4, 1957

“You’re driving too fast.”
“Kansas is very flat, isn’t it? There’s really not very much to see.”
“Oh! I’ve heard of Stuckeys, but Harold doesn’t like to drive out of state. Let’s stop there.”
“Is there a way you can use your magick to give me a new dress?”
“You turn that hellish music off right this moment! Everyone knows that Elvis is dangerous to innocent girls.” Irma’s fingers swept through the radio dial.
“Will we live in Hollywood? Do you think we’ll see Clark Gable or Tyrone Power? I hope you can give me a new dress before we run into them.”
Jazz’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel until the circle almost cracked under the pressure. Angry magick fountained around her like Roman candles.
“If it’s the last thing I do I will get this woman out of my car.”

Copyright 2011

Was Jazz ever able to get Irma out of her beloved T-Bird? Did Irma ever forgive her husband for cheating on her? Did she ever get a new dress?

I'll give you a hint. The answers are in Hex Appeal.

Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend Excerpt

2011-04-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

This is what happens if you piss off a witch. Enjoy.

“He asked for my number,” Sybil chattered away in the car.
“And you were a good little elf and didn’t give it to him.” Maggie downshifted as she turned a corner. Her silence was telling. “Please tell me you at least checked him out!”
“Definitely.”
“Not his ass, him overall. You did some interrogation mojo on him, right?”
“He knows I’m with the Guard. Do you really think he’d try something?”
“Hm, let’s see. There was that gremlin we brought in two months ago. He knew you were with the Guard and he also thought you were a total pushover. Which you almost were because he trotted out a sob story worthy of a midnight soap opera on the Supe Love Channel.”
“I went through my usual list of questions as we drank and danced and his answers were all I hoped for,” she assured her friend.“
Her cell phone chirping All Star interrupted Maggie’s comment about sanity having more than one meaning. Without looking down she tapped her Bluetooth button on her steering wheel to answer.
“O’Malley.”
“Tell your friend that Algar has to cancel their dinner date this weekend. He’s been called back to the Dark Country,” Declan’s voice flowed through the microphone like smooth jazz.
Maggie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “How did you get this number?”
“What did you do to him?” Sybil demanded, practically leaning across Maggie.
“Trying to drive here, babe,” Maggie told her.
“I want to know what you did to him, Declan!” Sybil’s voice grew shrill even as she still partially obstructed Maggie’s vision.
“Syb!” She pushed at her shoulder. “I can’t see the road!”
“Algar’s a great person and there was no reason for you to mess with my social life,” Sybil growled.
“Trust me, there was an excellent reason.”
“I want to know how you got this number!” Maggie chimed in.
“Sweet dreams, Maggie.” He clicked off.
Maggie muttered a variety of curses in multiple languages while Sybil added a few of her own.
“That’s it. I’m dragging that Anna in tomorrow.” Sybil fell back against her seat. “My eight brothers weren’t allowed to mess with my social life, so there’s no reason for him to think he can.” A soft chirp sounded from her bag. She pulled out her cell phone and began reading. “Oh boy.”
“Oh boy what?”
“Yours isn’t the only cell number Declan dug up. He texted me a report on Algar. It seems that son of a whore has a few side businesses we need to check into.” Sybil’s delicate features turned hard.
Maggie grimaced. “So Declan did a good thing.”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
Sybil looked at the witch. “Did you do something?”
Maggie took a deep breath. “Remember Jim Morrison singing about lighting his fire? Well, I guess you’d say I doused Declan’s.”
Her friend gaped then burst out laughing. “Let’s hope he’s wash and wear.”
###
When Anna walked into Declan’s office she found him standing in the midst of a downpour that didn’t touch one piece of furniture.
She pressed her hands over her mouth and just stared with saucer-size midnight black eyes as her shoulders began shaking with suppressed laughter. “Declan?” she choked out the name.
The long-suffering demon wiped his face as steam rose up from his clothing.
“Anna, would you get me a towel please?”

So tell me. If you had the power would you do the above to a guy who deserved it?

Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend in the Spotlight!

2011-04-16T15:39:00.001-07:00

Maggie and Declan are spotlighted on author Gabriella Hewitt's blog!

Come by and take a look.

http://www.gabriellahewitt.com/2011/04/15/demons-are-a-girls-best-friend/#comments

I'm Interviewed Today

2011-04-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

And what better place than Much Cheaper Than Therapy!

http://muchcheaperthantherapy.blogspot.com

Linda

Want A Free Hex Ebook?

2011-04-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover is a free read for your Kindle, Nook, and other ereaders! If you haven't read the first book in the series, it's the perfect time to start! Plus I've got a lot of interviews and guest blogs up.

If you'd like a chance for a free copy of Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend I'm at http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com, www.literaryescapism.com, and http://www.romconinc.com/index.php?option=com_lyftenbloggie&view=entry&category=fantasy+%2F+futuristic+%2F+paranormal&id=1166%3Aa-witch-walked-into-a-bar-one-night--by-linda-wisdom&Itemid=24

Here are all the sites that has 50 Ways To Hex Your Lover as a free ebook and it's available through April 11.

50 Ways to Hex Your Lover FREE during the week of 04/05/2011 – 04/11/2011

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ways-Hex-Your-Lover-ebook/dp/B001P50414/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2

BN: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/50-Ways-to-Hex-Your-Lover/Linda-Wisdom/e/9781402235344/?itm=1&USRI=50+ways+to+hex+your+lover

Sony: http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/linda-wisdom/50-ways-to-hex-your-lover/_/R-400000000000000098147

Kobo: http://kobobooks.com/ebook/50-Ways-Hex-Your-Lover/book-cgXqIr_7oE60ZBnX0Fg75w/page1.html

AppleUS: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/50-ways-to-hex-your-lover/id371692345?ls=1

AppleCA: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/50-ways-to-hex-your-lover/id371692345?ls=1

AppleAU: http://itunes.apple.com/au/book/50-ways-to-hex-your-lover/id371692345?ls=1

AppleUK: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/50-ways-to-hex-your-lover/id371692345?ls=1

AppleFR: http://itunes.apple.com/fr/book/50-ways-to-hex-your-lover/id371692345?ls=1

AppleDE: http://itunes.apple.com/de/book/50-ways-to-hex-your-lover/id371692345?ls=1

BooksOnBoard: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=296973

BooksAMillion: http://www.booksamillion.com/product/Q8325307?id=4952831930797

Sourcebooks: http://www.sourcebooks.com/readers/browse-our-lists/ebook-specials.html

I'm Guest Blogging Today

2011-04-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'm talking about Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend and my publisher is great enough to give away copies to some commenters! I hope you'll stop by and say hi.

http://killerfictionwriters.blogspot.com

http://bordersblog.com/trueromance/

http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com

My New Cover!

2011-04-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

It doesn't come out until next January, but I thought you'd like to see it, and drool, now. I'm still mopping the floors!

Blog Tour On The Move!

2011-04-01T09:11:00.001-07:00

I'm at two sites today and I hope you'll drop by and say hi!

http://jennylovestoread.blogspot.com/

http://www.rtbookreviews.com/genre/paranormal

Linda

Congratulations Kendra Leigh Castle!

2011-03-25T10:02:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine, Kendra Leigh Castle, was informed this morning that her Harlequin Nocturne, Renegade Angel, has been named a finalist in the Romance Writers of America Rita Awards!

I am so happy for Kendra! She’s a fantastic writer. She and Renegade Angel, deserve this.

If you want a great read, go check it out.

It's been thousands of years since Raum's angelic wings turned from white to black, and the Destroyer of Dignities and Robber of Kings never looked back. These days he's also on the outs with Hell and works with a motley crew of ex-demons on a new mission: snuffing out lesser demons and their half-human progeny.
Raum's latest assignment brings him to a small Vermont town—and a sweet, funny half-demon, half-human he'll risk everything to save. Ember Riddick stirs him as no woman ever before—and she holds the key to what Lucifer will move Hell and Earth to prevent: his team's redemption.
But Ember's secrets are as dark as Raum's midnight wings. And their fate may leave them entwined…but destroyed….

Congratulations, Kendra!

Looking For That Pot of Gold!

2011-03-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

"Be vewy vewy quiet, we’we hunting lepwechauns,” Horace intoned, creeping along the lush grass covered path. He ignored the birds perched in the trees overhead, although he did growl when bird poo plopped on his head.

“Dude, you have got to stop watching cartoons,” Puff muttered, nudging him with his ear.

“Those cartoons are classics,” the gargoyle informed him, looking at the paths branching off. “We need to go left.”

“We go right,” Fluff argued.

“Hello!” Puff rolled his eyes. “We stay on this path for three more kilometers.” A small map hung from his ears.

“Dude, didn’t you ever hear of GPS?” Horace hooted, flicking his claw at a map corner.

“Dude.” Sarcasm dripped from the word. “Did you ever hear how our magick and electronics don’t mix?”

“Plus Krebs wouldn’t let us use his,” Fluff muttered. “He said we already ruined four of them and he didn’t intend to see us screw up a fifth.”

Horace came to a stop and stared at Puff, tipping his head to the side so far he almost fell over. “You dummy, it’s upside down!” He snatched the map and turned it around.

“Why’d you do that? Now we have to go back the other way!” Fluff smacked his brother slipper with his ear and flipped around. “And look there!” He pointed upward where a colorful rainbow hung in the sky.

The threesome already knew their destination was the end of that rainbow.

“We’ve got to get there before someone else finds it and demands the leprechaun give up his gold.” Horace rubbed his claws in gleeful anticipation. He already had plans for his share. Big screen Hi Def TV topped the list.

“How do we know he even has a pot of gold?” Fluff asked, starting to slow down.

”Because if someone gets the gold, the rainbow disappears,” Horace told him.

“Are you sure? My feet hurt!”

“We don’t have feet, dork.” Puff hip checked Fluff.

“Doesn’t matter, something hurts. And there’s rocks here,” he whined.

“Quiet. We’re getting closer and we don’t want the leprechaun to hear us,” Horace warned them. He began to wish he’d done this hunt on his own. But he needed Fluff and Puff’s magick along with his own just to get them to the Emerald Isle. Maybe he wouldn’t have to split the gold three ways. Rabbits can’t count all that well, can they? He vowed to keep a mega gargoyle share.

Lilting sounds of a flute reached Fluff and Puff’s ears first. They mined shushing Horace and the trio fanned out along the path finally reaching the center of the forest where they came upon a small glade covered in perfect four leaf clovers.

Bands of brilliant color ended in a large cauldron holding a dazzling amount of gold coins.

“Gold,” Horace whispered with awe, his eyes glowing avarice.

“We can buy a chocolate company,” Fluff breathed, staring at the pot.

“We can buy the world.” Puff was close behind.

Except seated on a nearby rock was a three-foot high red bearded man dressed in an emerald green jacket and breeches with a green bowler perched on his curly mop of rusty red hair. His round cheeks glowed red as he played a lively dance tune on his flute.

Horace tapped a clawed foot in time to the music.

“Mine, all mine.”

“Ours,” Puff reminded him.

“Why’re ye here disturbing Seamus’s playing, magickal ones?” The leprechaun looked up from his playing.

“For your gold.” Horace stepped forward with the slippers on either side of him.

Seamus laughed as he set down his flute and hopped off the rock, dancing around the pot. The buckles on his black shoes gleamed the same color as the coins that overflowed their container.

“Ye shall not have my gold, creatures,” he sang out, dancing a jig.

“It’s in the rules,” Horace argued. “We demand your gold. You give it to us.”
“You have to catch me first!” He laughed, continuing to dance. He snatched up his flute and began playing again.

The game was on. Horace, Fluff and Puff fanned out ready to catch the elusive leprechaun. But the little man hadn’t lived these many thousand years without tricks of his own. The gold was his and he wasn’t about to give it up.

Magickal keepaway began and an hour later, Horace was panting with fatigue – after all the gargoyle was more used to lounging around Stasi’s lingerie boutique than doing any form of exercise. Fluff and Puff weren’t doing much better since their idea of activity was taking vigorous naps.

“I told ye!” Seamus chortled, dancing away from them.

But Horace was determined. Damn it, he had that TV all picked out! And a Bose sound system. He ran at Seamus like a linebacker but tripped and skidded through the grass as Seamus winked out of sight and appeared nearby.

“Enough, I have no more time for this marlarky,” Seamus announced. “Ye didn’t even offer me a pint.”

“Then give us the gold!” Horace yelled at him.

The leprechaun stared at the gargoyle. “Ye three didna do me right. Ye three didna leave me sight. Ye three must pay the piper and see the light.” He picked up his flute and played a variety of notes that seemed to fly in the air like glowing gnats and buzzed around the trio.

“Hey!” Horace swatted at the intruders, but they only swarmed closer.

“No!” The slippers wailed as they were likewise attacked.

Just as suddenly, their assailants were gone. And so was Seamus and his pot of gold.

Fluff and Puff stared at each other; their razor sharp toothy mouths wide open. “We’re green!” They turned to face Horace who looked down at himself.

“What the –“ The gargoyle practically wheezed. “I’m – I’m –“

“Gold.” The slippers whispered the word with the reverence they usually only gave to licorice root and chocolate.

Horace threw his claws up to the sky. “I look like an Academy Award!” he wailed, before looking down. “Don’t even think it,” he growled, as the slippers advanced on him with the same intensity Elmer Fudd used in tracking Bugs Bunny. “What are you doing?” He fought the net that covered him as the slippers tipped him to the ground and began slowly, but steadily, dragging him out of the glade.

“Do you know what gold’s going for now?” Fluff asked his best bud as they made their way.

“No, but we can check once we get him home.” Puff ignored Horace’s curses and threats as they hauled their booty back to the magick portal that would send them back home. “We should probably pick up some bleach too. Green isn’t a good color for me.”

Just remember – you also need a dram of whiskey or a pint if you catch a leprechaun and demand his pot ‘o gold or you might end up green or gold too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Plus just to let you all know Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend is available at Amazon and B&N!

Small Town Secrets is Now An Ebook!

2011-02-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy this book has been re released since I enjoyed writing it. You can now find it for your Kindle, Nook, and other e readers.

Trouble in Warm Springs

The sleepy little town in the California desert was supposed to be a sanctuary for Bree Fitzpatrick – a place of refuge from the big city crime that had left her a widow with three children to raise.

But something was wrong, terribly wrong, in Warm Springs. Nothing could have prepared even a hardened police officer like her for the dark mystery of this place – a mystery that had cost far too many people their lives. And nothing could have prepared her for Cole Becker, the devastatingly handsome newspaper reporter who was determined to help her uncover the truth – and show a grieving woman that she could have a second chance at love…

Originally published in February 2002

What Do You Do On A Rainy Day?

2011-02-26T12:46:00.001-08:00

It’s one of those days. So cold outside it takes your breath away. Rain falling in sheets. Wind whipping in wild gusts.

No way you want to leave the house where it’s warm and cozy.

Do you have coffee, tea, or hot chocolate on hand? A good book or a DVD you’ve been meaning to watch?

What’s your pleasure on a day like that?

Linda, looking at the rain and sipping her chocolate truffle coffee

Fall In Love Like A Romance Writer

2011-02-17T00:01:00.000-08:00

I was asked to be part of a wonderful project. What better subject than falling in love!
Such are the pearls of insight generously dispensed with wisdom, wit, and emotional resonance from the bestselling authors who write all about it in Fall in Love Like a Romance Writer: The Secret Keys to a Long and Lasting Love. Award-winning novelist Amelia Grey takes us on a journey with more than sixty-five of the romance world's most beloved storytellers whose personal experiences with that old black magic reveal a wealth of knowledge about the language of love and what makes it work—or not.
At turns entertaining, thought-provoking, poignant, and unexpected, Fall in Love Like a Romance Writer is far more than a collection of essays. It is a collection of secrets that contain the keys to a love that will endure. As critically acclaimed author Jean Brashear advises, 'A long love affair needs a special, private, safe place to grow and blossom. Creating that space is, I believe with all my heart, both the joy and the most sacred duty of a marriage.'
Fall in love and bloom.
Readers will enjoy glimpsing into the exclusive and private world of their favorite romance authors. Humorous, poignant, and entertaining from beginning to end, Fall in Love Like A Romance Writer reveals what it takes to have your own happily ever after, just like the ones your beloved writers are creating...and living.
This book goes beyond the fictional love stories to uncover the real romantic relationships of more than 60 beloved, bestselling romance novelists.
Linda Lael Miller, Mariah Stewart, Robyn Carr, Heather Graham, Karen Robards, Joan Johnston, Kat Martin, Pamela Morsi, Sabrina Jeffries, Eloisa James, Rachel Gibson, Susan Anderson, Bertrice Small, Jennifer Blake, Mary Balogh, Teresa Medeiros, Cathy Maxwell, Victoria Alexander, Laura Lee Guhrke, Mary Jo Putney, Jill Marie Landis, Meryl Sawyer, Stella Cameron, Stef Ann Holm, Elizabeth Hoyt, Kasey Michaels, Julianne MacLean, Lorraine Heath, Gaelen Foley, Haywood Smith, Wendy Corsi Staub, Elizabeth Boyle, Christie Ridgway, Jane Porter, Elizabeth Grayson, Amanda Scott, Gayle Callen, Annette Blair, Amanda McCabe, Jean Brashear, Suzanne Forster, Karen White, Stephanie Bond, Judith Arnold, Patricia Potter, Barbara Samuel, Dee Davis, Robin Lee Hatcher, Shana Galen, Leigh Greenwood, Deb Stover, Linda Wisdom, Jasmine Cresswell, Shirl Henk, Judi Fennell, Jo Ann Ferguson, Michele Ann Young, Nicola Cornick, Kate Austin, Geri Buckley, Cheryl Brooks, Nicole Byrd, Sharon Lathan, Jade Lee, Terry Spear, Jannine Corti Petska, Ciji Ware, and many others tell about how they met the love of their lives, or how they made their love last through the years, or what they believe makes love and romance timeless. Some of the stories are heart-warming, some are inspiring, and others are filled with humor, but they are all sprinkled with that magical feeling of being in love.
You can find the book at any bookstore.

Reviews, Reviews!

2011-02-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Reviews are important for a book. It gets the word out there and every author hopes for good ones.

I was so glad to see that Publisher's Weekly enjoyed Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend!

Yes, I know it calls it a new series, but it's still the witches.

Demons Are a Girl's Best Friend

Linda Wisdom, Sourcebooks Casablanca, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-1-4022-5439-0

Wisdom (Hex in High Heels) expands her paranormal romance universe with the launch of a new series featuring a witch who's part of a supernatural military task force. Hellion Guard Margit "Maggie" O'Malley, backed by a team of assorted supernatural creatures, must protect a troublesome teen girl from the forces that want to sacrifice her to a dark Mayan god. Half-human fire demon Declan owns Damnation Alley, a club catering to nonhumans and containing a portal to the demon world. The two are drawn together by dreams and visions, allowing them to express their mutual interest even as they distrust each other in the real world. Romance and sex are firmly grounded with issues of family relations and friendship, giving this supernatural romp broad appeal. (Apr.)

Permalink: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4022-5439-0 (978-1-4022-5439-0)

And The Winner Is

2011-02-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

Karissa Graves popped up in the random generator!

Congratulations Karissa! Email your mailing info to contact at linda wisdom dot com.

Fluff and Puff Looking For Love

2011-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

The conest is closed, but there will be another one next month and once I have my virtual tour for guest blogs and interview finalized I'll be posting it here. There will be a lot of fun contests there also.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Fluff looked over Barney’s shoulder as the mini Schnauzer tapped away on the laptop keyboard.

“I watch Mom do this every day,” the dog insisted, waving him off with a paw.

“This won’t work,” Puff groused, rummaging in a drawer.

“You better get out of Linda’s chocolate stash,” Barney warned. “If she finds that See’s box empty of her Bordeauxs she’ll be having Jazz lock you up for the next thousand years.” He groaned as he watched an empty white box fly into the air and fall over. “I shouldn’t even do this for you!”

“Sure you will. Or we’ll tell Linda YOU were the one in her chocolate.” Puff wiped chocolate off his face.

Barney uttered doggy curses as he returned to the computer.

“Here we go, Freaklist. See anyone you like?” He sat back on his haunches so his fuzzy buddies could get a peek.

“Eh, you could do better.” Fluff scrunched up his nose.

“He doesn’t understand our world,” Puff reminded his cohort.

“Wait ‘til I’m in a book,” Barney muttered.

The bunny slippers hooted. “You’ll never be in one of Linda’s books!’

“Ha! She’s already got plans for me.” The small dog smirked.

“As what? A miniature Yeti?” The two slippers rolled around the floor in laughter.

“Oh, you’ll see.” Barney already saw himself as a true star. He continued scrolling down. “I’m going to make you guys total toast when it’s my turn.”

Fluff rolled over as a flash of pink caught his eye. “Yes!” He shot over to the laptop and used his ear to tap the keys. “Puff!” His fuzzy partner in crime was soon beside him. “So pretty,” he breathed.

Puff practically crawled over his friend to stare lovingly at the pink bunny high-heeled slippers named Val N Tine.

“I’m in love,” he cooed. “Email them! Now!”

Barney clicked away then reared back, almost falling back on his butt. “Whoa! You guys better be prepared to grovel big time.”

“Why?” Fluff demanded.

“Fifi and Pam live with Cupid.”

The bunny slippers thought of all the damage they’d done to Cupid’s digs.

“How many chocolate truffles do you think it will take to make him like us again?” Fluff asked.

“Get Krebs’ black AmEx,” Puff told him. “And any other credit card you can find!”

Barney looked at the smears of chocolate on the carpet, the mini blinds, the ceiling?, and the furniture. “You better get a boatload of See’s Bordeaux for Linda too, cuz no way I’m taking the blame for this.”

“There’s a way out,” Puff said, heading for a cabinet and pulling out a book. “We are so going to meet those babes!”

And in celebration of our new loves, we are offering up a signed Advanced Reading Copy of Linda’s April release, Demons Are A Girl’s Best Friend. Oh yeah, we’ll get Linda to sign it for you!

The winner will be chosen from the comments left on Barney, Fluff, and Puff’s Valentine post from 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM, February 14, 2011. Chances of winning is determined by the number of comments. The contest is open to US and international readers.

Check Out My Interview!

2011-02-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

http://www.examiner.com/romance-novel-in-tucson/linda-wisdom-packs-her-pocket-dragons-and-heads-to-the-tucson-festival-of-books

I think this is really good!

Linda

A Sneak Peek

2011-02-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

April's coming up so I thought I'd give you another glimpse into Maggie's world. Enjoy!

Linda

He’s a demon, Mags.
Uh, duh! Tell me something I don’t know.
He can tear you apart with one thought.
And I can turn him inside out with a thought.
Then maybe the two of you are made for each other after all.
“I really hate it when that bitchy little voice has to chime in,” she muttered, driving through the magickal shield that protected the compound from the outer world and making her way toward the large garage that housed the vehicles. “What’s next?”
“You’re talking to yourself, darling.” Tita glided toward her. Oversized dark glasses protected her eyes from the sun while a long-sleeved cat suit protected the rest of her. “That’s never good.” She revealed her pearly fangs.
“Aren’t you up early?” Maggie smiled at her team member as the vampire draped an arm around her shoulders.
“I have two days off and I’m spending them in Paris. I was lucky to get a last minute flight and it will be dark by the time I reach the airport. I’ve always loved French food.” Her eyes glowed red.
“Named Jean Paul or Rene?” she teased.
“Why not both?” She smiled back. “I heard the demon is coming back to talk to Ravenna. How did you manage that?”
“My charm.”
“Yes, I’m sure Declan was thoroughly bemused.” Tita shot her a knowing smile. “See you in a few.” She waved her hand over her head as she headed for her sleek black Aston Martin with its dark tinted windows.
“Bring me a souvenir!” Maggie called after her.
“Blond or brunette?” The vampire laughed and roared off.
Maggie took the time to duck into her quarters and brush her hair, tucking it behind her ears, and adding a swipe of lip gloss, blush, and mascara. Convinced she looked more presentable, she also changed into a cotton skirt in swirls of black, ivory and hot pink coupled with a pink tank top. She added a gold chain with chunks of pink coral and turquoise and matching earrings. Not once did she admit she was doing this because she’d be seeing Declan again soon.
Maggie was waiting at the entrance when Declan and Anna were escorted to the Seers’ Pavilion. After making the appropriate request to enter she gestured for them to follow. She smothered her chuckle when the duo looked down at the dark green hooded robes that covered their clothing the moment they stepped over the threshold.
“See, wearing color isn’t all that difficult, is it?”
She kept an eye on Anna, noticing her hesitation and the way she surveyed their environment. Maggie didn’t blame her. Considering the seriousness of the Guard’s work, it was always surprising to walk into the light and airy Pavilion—it looked more like the site of a lovefest than a building filled with Seers intent on discovering trouble in the realms before it happened.
“You’re very lovely,” an apprentice wearing a flower garland in her hair told Anna, giving her a hug and moving on.
“What is this?” Declan demanded in a low voice.
“They believe in their happy place,” Maggie said.
“No kidding.” He sneezed.
“Patchouli.”
Declan and Anna gasped when they entered Ravenna’s receiving room and Declan started to step back as if he’d been seared.
“I apologize, but you must understand there are protocols,” Ravenna said from her spot at the other end of the moonlit room. “We are considered very precious and must be protected at all costs. All you felt was a spell ensuring you and your sister could do me and mine no harm.” Her smile warmed the room.
“Yes, I understand,” he said in a low voice. “I am not like many of my kind. I prefer to save from harm rather than destroy.”
“Can you really do it?” Anna blurted out. “Can you take the darkness away?”
Ravenna glided toward her and took hold of Anna’s hands. “I can soften it for you, and together we will find the answers. Only then will the darkness be taken from you. But you must understand that you are a demon; your race holds shadows within them the way we hold the light. But you can learn to push the shade away.”
Maggie urged Declan to a corner that held two cushioned stools while Ravenna led Anna to the center of the room where two large pillows were arranged near a small brazier from which the scent of water lily and wild tuberose wafted in the air.
“What will she do?” Declan whispered.
“Only Ravenna knows.”
“I require silence. Thank you.”
Maggie mouthed an apology and made herself comfortable. She was just as curious as Declan about what would happen.
Ravenna and Anna sat on the pillows facing each other, their hands clasped.
The witch couldn’t understand the words that left the Seer’s lips, but the power that filled the room was potent. Declan shifted uneasily on the stool. On impulse, she reached over and grasped his hand.
“The time of darkness is near,” Ravenna intoned. “A portal to evil ready to open when blood falls on the sacred stone in the land of old beliefs where gods of the sun and moon are worshipped, but this time it is the sun that will look down upon the sacrifice. Blood spilled to the gods. They require one with true blood to give up her heart to the god of destruction. She is near. The priests have not found her yet, but they will. Their only task is to find her and bring her to the temple for the sunrise that will reveal blood and fire. Once the Destroyer is returned to his rightful place he will rule and blood will flow like water.”
“The true one,” Anna whispered, her eyes closed.
“Who is the true one?” Maggie asked softly forgetting she was to be silent, but no one chastised her.
Ravenna threw back her head and sang something that caused the power in the air to turn into a heavy mist. It lifted toward the ceiling and slowly evolved into a dark background for the colorful figure that dominated it. The faint sound of drums echoed throughout the room, the resonance seeming to bleed through the walls.
Maggie nearly had to pick her jaw up off the floor as she stared at the image of a teenage girl in ratty jeans and Green Day t-shirt, her dark hair streaked with white blonde flowing past her waist. “Wait a minute! Are you saying the one with the right blood is a teenage girl and the whole thing hinges on her?” She pointed toward the image. “Oh, we are so screwed!”

I Don't Do ...

2011-01-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

Remember that infamous line “I don’t do windows”

Well, I don’t among other things.

Do you notice that people tend to typecast you by your looks or your manner? So many quips are out there that we latch on to for that reason.

I Don’t Do Perky

Leave Me Along Until I Have My Coffee – Definitely me

I’m Not A Morning Person

And do people describe you as something you don’t see for yourself? I’ve been called bubbly and I don’t see myself as that way.

More like I didn’t snap or snarl at anyone when I was at Walmart. Yes, that’s way more me! Not that I’m cranky, but there are times.

So what about you? How would you describe yourself but also, how do people see you? Do they go together?

Fall In Love Like A Romance Writer

2011-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

I was very lucky to be asked to participate in this project. I hope you'll check the book out.

Linda

Amelia Grey unveils the secrets to real romances . . .
from the masters of the fictional world.
On sale February 1, 2011
Fall in Love
Like a Romance Writer
available at your
favorite bookstore
or one of these websites . . .
www.amazon.com
www.barnesandnoble.com
www.booksamillion.com
www.borders.com
chapters.indigo.ca
HCI
Trade Paperback
ISBN-10: 0757315542
ISBN-13: 978-0757315541
www.AmeliaGrey.com
Linda Lael Miller, Mariah Stewart, Robyn Carr, Heather Graham, Karen Robards, Joan Johnston,
Kat Martin, Pamela Morsi, Sabrina Jeffries, Eloisa James, Rachel Gibson, Susan Anderson,
Bertrice Small, Jennifer Blake, Mary Balogh, Teresa Medeiros, Cathy Maxwell, Victoria
Alexander, Laura Lee Guhrke, Mary Jo Putney, Jill Marie Landis, Meryl Sawyer, Stella Cameron,
Stef Ann Holm, Elizabeth Hoyt, Kasey Michaels, Julianne MacLean, Loraine Heath, Gaelen
Foley, Haywood Smith, Wendy Corsi Staub, Elizabeth Boyle, Christie Ridgeway, Jane Porter,
Elizabeth Grayson, Amanda Scott, Gayle Callen, Annette Blair, Amanda McCabe, Jean Brashear,
Suzanne Forster, Karen White, Stephanie Bond, Judith Arnold, Patricia Potter, Barbara Samuel,
Dee Davis, Robin Lee Hatcher, Shana Galen, Leigh Greenwood, Deb Stover, Linda Wisdom,
Jasmine Cresswell, Shirl Henk, Judi Fennell, Jo Ann Ferguson, Michele Ann Young, Nicola
Cornick, Kate Austin, Geri Buckley Borcz, Cheryl Brooks, Nicole Byrd, Sharon Lathan, Jade Lee,
Terry Spear, Jannine Corti Petska, and Ciji Ware tell about how they met the love of their lives,
or how they made their love last through the years, or what they believe makes love and
romance timeless. Some of the stories are heart-warming, some are inspiring, and others are
filled with humor, but they are all sprinkled with that magical feeling of being in love.

Midnight Lady Available Again!

2011-01-25T11:34:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite books to write was Midnight Lady for Bantam Loveswept that was released in 1994.

Since I'm a big fan of horror movies, especially the classics, I wanted to feature a family who produced the kind of films Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi would star in.

I'm happy to give the book a new life and a new cover.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/39247

http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Lady-ebook/dp/B004KABFVE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1296061427&sr=1-5

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=2940012173850

Kyle – A dangerously handsome creature of the night …

He’d expected an unusual greeting when he knocked at the door of the spooky manor house, but Kyle Fletcher wasn’t ready for the fireworks in Samantha Lyons sparkling violet eyes! He’d come to interview her movie-legend grandfather, but the mysterious wildcat who ran Baron Lyons’ film stupid captured Kyle’s interest more … even if courting her meant facing down ghosts!

She made him dream of silk sheets and thunderstorms.

No one else dared call her Sam, dared stroke her with sensual magick until she lost control in his arms – but still she fared Kyle was the enemy; a reporter who might betray her family .. or break her tender heart. She had a talent for making illusions seem utterly real, yet desperately yearned to believe in the truth of Kyle’s love. Could he convince his stubborn witch that he adored the woman she was?

Kyle Fletcher had expected an unusual greeting when he knocked at the door of the spooky manor house, but he wasn’t ready for the fireworks in Samantha Lyons sparkling violet eyes!

Samantha feared Kyle was the enemy; a reporter who might betray her family .. or break her tender heart. Could Kyle’s love convince his stubborn witch that he adored the woman she was?

Writing 101 -- Book Beginnings

2011-01-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Some writers will sit down and those all important first words will just flow from their brain down their arms to their fingers and to the keyboard.

Every word is pure gold.

Others will sit there, write the first line or even go so far as write the first paragraph. Read it. Hate it. Delete it. And start all over again.

I’ve started thinking about book beginnings lately after reading a lot of them.

I guess you can say I went overboard since I can download book samples on my Nook. I saw it as a great way to find new authors for me.

And since I don’t have a lot of reading time right now I figured it would be good to start reading those book samples. Some samples were around 20 pages, others unfortunately were only a few. But there were times when even those few had me wanting to read the rest of the book.

I admit there were a few that I deleted the sample, but there’s a lot, many of them authors new to me, that I know I’ll be purchasing along the way.

Then I wonder if I shouldn’t have given those authors a chance. Tried one book and maybe it was a slow start. And that has me wondering.

How does that work for you as a reader? Is the first part of a book a make it or break it for you? Are you willing to give some of them a chance or do you move on?

Has there been a book beginning that ever totally turned you off?

Linda

Post Holiday Blahs

2011-01-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Do you have them?

After all the energy of the past few months do you experience a sort of letdown once January comes? Or do you look forward to the new year and what you want to do during the next twelve months?

Think about making resolutions and whether you’ll keep them or not?

I stopped making resolutions since it’s too easy to forget them as soon as I’ve written them down.

All I have is my list of what I hope to accomplish during a year’s time. What ideas I hope to write and sell heads the list. And anything else that might tempt me.

I’m also known to offer myself incentive. “Okay, Linda, if you finish this you can have that.” And I stick to it no matter how hard it is or how hard I beg “But I tried! Come on, let me get it anyway!”

Yep, I’m a tough customer.

So what do you do to get through the post holiday blahs or are you one of the lucky ones and doesn’t have them?

Plus, there's an article about me and my books on line!

http://www.examiner.com/fiction-in-san-diego/romance-and-witches-are-author-s-forte

Linda

Ebook Monday -- Guest Blogger Barbara Keiler

2011-01-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Please welcome good friend Judith Arnold and a peek into her latest books!

What’s the best thing about winter in New England, where I live? Not skiing (unless you’re one of those crazy people who like to strap plastic sticks to your feet and hurtle yourself down a mountain.) Not ice-skating (same idea, except for steel blades instead of plastic sticks, and a pond or a rink instead of a mountain.) Not sledding—which can be fun but leaves you cold and wet and sniffly. Not driving. (Definitely not driving!) Not the beautiful scenery, which looks like all those evocative Grandma Moses or Norman Rockwell or Currier & Ives paintings and etchings for a few days before the once-pristine snow turns slushy and gray. And let’s face it, scenery can only take you so far.
No, the best thing about our snowy, sleety, icy New England winters is reading. When the world is buried in cold white drifts and gusts of wind howl outside the window, what can be better than curling up in a comfortable chair by a crackling fire with a cup of steaming tea or cocoa and a good book?
Well, one thing that might be better is curling up in a comfortable chair by a crackling fire with a cup of tea or cocoa and an e-reader loaded with good books.
E-readers are convenient. They’re compact. They don’t get dog-eared. One little device can hold so many books—and those books cost less than paper books. The fifteen dollars that buys one trade paperback can buy five e-books.
Even better, books that have been out of print and unavailable for years may now be available as e-books.
I’m an old friend of Linda Wisdom’s. (No, we’re not old! We’re long-time friends!) I remember reading many of her wonderful Silhouette Special Edition romances years before e-readers were a twinkle in anyone’s eye. I’m sure she remembers reading some of my Harlequin American romances and Superromances from the late ’80’s and ’90’s. Those books we wrote back then were great books. They’re still great books. And now, thanks to e-book publishing, authors like Linda and me can make those books available to new readers.
So curl up in your comfortable chair beside the fireplace with your e-reader and lose yourself in the pages—correction: the scrolling screen—of some classic Linda Wisdom and Judith Arnold romances. I’ve published three of my backlist titles as e-books so far: Cry Uncle, Barefoot In the Grass and Safe Harbor—and you can buy all three of them for significantly less than the cost of a single trade paperback. Visit my website (www.juditharnold.com) or Backlist Ebooks (http://backlistebooks.com/) for easy links to these books. And visit Linda’s website (http://www.lindawisdom.com/books.htm) for links to her reissued ebooks.
Happy reading!

Judith Arnold

EBook Thursday -- What's On My Nook

2011-01-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

love my mysteries and thrillers. Having my favorite authors on my Nook is even better and more so when I discover a new author to me.

Jefferson Bass is one of the latter.

The writing duo of Dr. Bill Bass, founder of the Body Farm in TN, and Jon Jefferson meld fact and fiction so seamlessly that you can’t stop reading.

I discovered the series when their first book, Carved in Bone, was a free offer for the Nook. Thanks to a B&N gift card I wasted no time downloading the rest of the books.

The fictional Dr. Bill Brockton is a forensic anthropologist who heads up the University of Tennessee’s Body Farm where donated bodies are left outside in various methods to explore the manner of decay.

I read Dr. Bass’s book on the Body Farm when it was first released and I enjoyed his methods of discovering how a body decays whether clothed, unclothed, in a building or left to the elements. At the time I wrote a lot of romantic suspense and anything that would help me better understand forensics was my excuse for research. And I’m still doing it.
The Body Farm novels feature Dr. Brockton, his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady, and a variety of characters, some based on real people gives you a look into forensic anthropology and how it can even solve murders. One book even gives you a peek into a town built during World War II and the secrets it held then. And I’ve got to say I enjoyed ‘Grease’ a defense attorney who you love to hate.

Have you discovered any new authors lately that you think I should add to my Nook?

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's now 2011 and the beginning of so much.

I have a lot going on that I'll be talking about, not just writing, but other subjects too and I hope you'll come back to see what I'm chattering about.

Let's break out that champagne, shall we?

Ebook Thursday -- Guest Blogger Dara Girard

2010-12-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

Old Friends

I love the classics: Classic movies, classic books, classic music and dance. I like to look back at where we’ve been. This is one reason why I’m thoroughly enjoying the e-publishing revolution as both a reader and a writer. Because traditional publishing treats books as milk that can spoil or fruit that can rot, many books are put out of print and only discovered in dusty used bookstores or online (after lots of searching). Now they can stay in print for years to come and generate income for their creators. As an author I no longer have to worry about a book disappearing after a few weeks (in the case of category books) or months (in the case of regular fiction) now I can create classics.

I wrote The Sapphire Pendant over ten years ago but didn’t get it published until several years later. It’s about a young woman desperate to reclaim a family heirloom by seducing an eligible bachelor. I decided to publish it through my company and it sold well and won a national award, but I was never able to market it the way I wanted to. And I parted ways with my distributor and The Sapphire was heading to the ‘out of print’ pasture.

Now that’s changed. Through e-publishing it’s back on the market with a new cover and a new lease on life. Soon I’ll have it available as a print on demand. Unlike some authors who are updating their work, I’m releasing it ‘as is’ with a note that says it’s the early 2000s. Why? Because I think stories are timeless. No matter how many times they update A Christmas Carol the original story still resonates. I don’t need to see Cary Grant with a cell phone in Bringing up Baby or Dolly Parton in 9-5 using a computer. But that’s just me. I don’t fault anyone for wanting to make their work more contemporary.

That’s the point. It’s the power of choice given to authors that I love the most. We can add, edit, fix, polish, update or leave be to our hearts content. We have the freedom to complete series that publishers dropped, create stories that ‘don’t fit the mold’ or try new genres. We can be the innovators we were meant to be. And most of all we can create them to last. In 2011 I plan to produce more work some old some new, but one thing is certain, I’ll enjoy visiting with old friends no matter what new outfits they wear.

Dara Girard is the author of fourteen novels and one book of nonfiction The Writer Behind the Words: Steps to Success in the Writing Life. You can find out more about her and her work here: www.daragirard.com or www.facebook.com/DaraGirard

Have A Wonderful Holiday!

2010-12-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and Santa didn't leave coal in your stocking.

Linda

Ebook Monday -- What's In My Nook

2010-12-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

I have a variety of books in my Nook. Yes, even my own books. :}

But I thought I’d talk about one of my favorite series. I have so many it wasn’t easy to choose, so I had to go the eeny meeny miny mo route.

The winner is … Simon R Green’s Nightside Series.

My buddy Terey Ramin put me on to these books and I was hooked from the first sentence.

It’s an urban fantasy about a darker side of London called Nightside where PI John Taylor grew up and left with a bullet in him courtesy of bounty hunter Shotgun Suzie aka ‘Oh shit! It’s her!’ He’s gone from five years but returns when a client wants him to go there to retrieve her daughter who was lured to Nightside.

John is more than just your typical gumshoe. He wears a snazzy white trench coat, doesn’t bother with weapons because he has talents that can protect him, and has a gift of gab that has me muttering “I wish I’d thought of that.”

Nightside is a city that most of us wouldn’t even want to visit. Vehicles with a mind of their own where occupants could end up as dinner. Shops that offer goods that could create a variety of nightmares, and we won’t even talk about the clubs. Even the private ones are dangerous.

John also has a quest in finding out the truth about his parents, especially his mother, but no one wants to talk about that. Especially the head security man of Nightside, Walker, who

There’s also a variety of characters in the books that totally boggle the imagination but works perfectly in Nightside. Dead Boy who binds his wounds with duct tape, Razor Eddy, who’s pretty much self-explanatory, Shotgun Suzie who might be considered psycho but loves her weapons, depressed bar owner Alex who offers some drinks no halfway sane person would want, and Walker, the one who keeps Nightside together and battles John every step of the way.

The series is a fast read, keep me going, and have me demanding more. There’s so much in these books I could go on for pages, but I’d rather you find out for yourself. If you love dark urban fantasy with incredible twists and turns you’ll love this series.

Winner of Book Giveaway!

2010-12-18T14:49:00.000-08:00

is Kaleen!

Congratulations, lady!

Send me your snail mail addy at contact at lindawisdom dot com and your book will go out next week!

Linda

Don't Forget the Holiday Hunt at Night Owl Reviews

2010-12-18T02:01:00.000-08:00

Lots of fun books and prizes including some from me!

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/pages/WinterWonderlandDetails.aspx

Linda

Happy Anniversary to Me and A book Giveaway!

2010-12-16T23:55:00.000-08:00

It’s a triple anniversary for me. My wedding anniversary is today and we were even married on a Friday, then I sold my first two romances, Dancer in the Shadows and 14 Karat Beauty to Silhouette Romance on this date in 1979. And Dancer in the Shadows was released in December, 1980.

So it seems only fair that we celebrate!

Champagne and chocolate for all!

And one lucky commenter has a chance to obtain a signed advanced reading copy of Demons Are A Girl’s Best Friend that will be released next April.

The winner will get a chance to read about Maggie and Declan ahead of time!

The contest will begin at 12:01 AM Pacific Standard Time on Friday, December 17, 2010 and end at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time, Friday December 17, 2010. I'm sorry, any comments left after 11:59 on the 17th will not be considered. Contest is open to US addresses only.

Your odds of winning will be determined by the number of commenters and the winner chosen by a random generator.

And I want to add that I will hold another giveaway closer to Valentine's Day and will include international shipping.

Ebook Thursdays -- Guest Blogger Fran Baker

2010-12-16T00:01:00.001-08:00

Please welcome Fran Baker who loves to write what I love to read. Is there anything better than a book that keeps you clamoring for more?

I love those old romantic comedies for the crackling dialogue, comedic timing, corny jokes and sometimes cornier plots. Oh, and for the tantalizing suggestion of sex. You know what I’m talking about: the passionate, starlit kisses and the fierce, fiery embraces that take you as far as the bedroom … and then shut the door in your face.

One of my favorites is “Adam’s Rib.” The pairing of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, always a pretty good go, was a classic. Married lawyers, one a prosecutor and one a defense attorney, living the good life at home and then squaring off in the courtroom--you just knew this was going to be a battle of rapier-sharp wits.

As a former court reporter who’s married to a now-retired judge, I’m always up for a good legal story. So when, a couple of years ago, I saw that TCM was running “Adam’s Rib” for the umpteenth time, I settled in for the umpteenth time to watch it. But this time, when Adam (Spencer Tracy) tells Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) that he's been asked to run for judge and she asks him who will run against him, I was struck by an idea …

What if a contemporary couple of married attorneys wound up opposing each other for a judgeship? I had the perfect expert to ask pertinent questions of, and I’d been in enough courtrooms myself to know how the legal system worked. Why not write my own romantic legal comedy?

That’s how Romeo, Romeo, my original eBook novel, came to be. The characters’ names came to me almost immediately: Gian Luigi Romeo and Maggie Kelly Romeo. The opening scene (no shutting the bedroom door here!) practically wrote itself. Once I had those, I was off. I wrote the first draft in record time and then I rewrote it and polished it and … had no idea what to do with it.

One thing I did know was that I should get a blurb for Romeo, Romeo. I contacted New York Times bestselling author Deborah Smith. Deborah and I had both written for Bantam’s Loveswept line of romances, and we’ve worked together for library mailings and such since we both started our own presses. Add in the facts that I’m a big fan of her novels and an even bigger fan of her sense of humor, and I thought maybe this would be a good fit.

To my delight, it was. Deborah wrote: “This hot, funny, smart romantic comedy will make readers think of a great Tracy and Hepburn film, with a side dish of hearty passion. Fran Baker knows how to generate heat and humor.”

Now I had a completed book and a terrific blurb. I gave serious thought to trying to sell it. But after looking around and seeing a romance industry in a state of flux, I decided to chance the winds of change and publish Romeo, Romeo myself. It’s available at Amazon as well as all the eBook stores, and it’s my hope that you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Okay, enough about me and my romantic comedy. It's your turn to tell me what your favorite old romantic comedy is.

About the Author: Fran Baker is the author of eleven novels, with a twelfth in progress. Readers are invited to visit her web sites at www.FranBaker.com or www.DelphiBooks.us. Romeo, Romeo and The Widow and the Wildcatter are available at Amazon (Amazon.com: Romeo, Romeo: Fran Baker: Kindle Store) or wherever eBooks are sold.

The End Also Means A New Beginning

2010-12-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

They say you can tell if a person is positive or negative by whether they see a glass as half full or half empty.

We see December as the end of the year and January as the beginning. Why not see this month as that slide into a new beginning?

I got married a week before Christmas. A new chapter in my life.

And 31 years ago on my wedding anniversary I sold my first two books to Silhouette Romances. The following December, my first book, Dancer in the Shadows, was released. Both new beginnings to my career that took me out of the corporate world and threw me into publishing.

Beginnings are good. Something new. Something that you can look forward to.

I even look at that with my writing. The beginning of the book is so much fun. It is for me because I don’t always know what’s going to happen. Sure I’m aware of the story I’ve come up with, but sometimes my characters decide they want to take a different path. There have been times when they’ve even changed the ending for me. And while I feel a little sad when I reach the last chapter, I know there’s a new book waiting to be written. Another beginning. Something new to look forward to.

Don’t look at the twelfth month of the year as the holidays and the end. Look at it as the time that slides into the beginning. Something to look forward to.

I know I’m looking forward to what will happen next year. Where my journey will take me. I’ve been on a lot of paths, some good, some not, but all learning experiences I’ve benefited from.

So remember to think of that glass as half full and that there’s no ending without a new beginning just around the corner.

Linda

Also, one of my award winning Loveswept romance novels is now available as an ebook. O’Hara Vs Wilder can be found on Amazon, B&N for your Nook and www.smashwords.com. More of my backlist book soon to follow. Another beginning.

Dear Santa

2010-12-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

What I want for Christmas is …

I have no clue.

There’s usually something that catches my eye and I drop hints all over the house, cut out photos, you name it.

But that didn’t happen this year. I’m driving my family crazy because I don’t know what I want for Christmas.

What about you? What do you hope shows up under the tree come Christmas morning?

Hm, maybe I’ll just wish for him under my tree.

Linda

EBook Mondays -- Guest Blogger Patricia Rosemoor

2010-12-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Please welcome wonderful author Patricia Rosemoor! Her books are loved everywhere and the fun part is her backlist is available again!

The McKenna Legacy

To My Darling Grandchildren,

I leave you my love and more. Within thirty-three days of your thirty-third birthday-enough time to know what you are about-you will have in your grasp a legacy of which your dreams are made. Dreams are not always tangible things, but more often are born in the heart. Act selflessly in another’s behalf, and my legacy will be yours.

Your loving grandmother,
Moira McKenna

I am so excited to make the first three The McKenna Legacy novels available to readers again. They were originally published in the mid-nineties, but readers still write to me to ask how they can get them, because they were part of the Harlequin Intrigue line and had a very limited shelf or reorder life.

So now I have learned to “Kindle” and I’ve uploaded all three books – SEE ME IN YOUR DREAMS, TELL ME NO LIES and TOUCH ME IN THE DARK – both as individual buys and rolled together in one specially priced Kindle book. I may try some of the other ebook choices once I get over the trauma of learning this one!

What is so surprising to me is how readers get invested in an idea. I think the idea of family appeals, of course, but the psychic or sometimes downright paranormal element adds an extra appeal to the books. Originally I had a single legacy and Moira’s nine grandchildren. I wrote the three original books and my editor wanted me to work on something different. Then she asked for another McKenna because the originals were selling so well. I worked on yet another series and then was asked to do more McKennas. And so on until I’d written all nine.

And then my editor asked me to develop another branch of the family, because that’s what readers wanted, so I did. But obviously I couldn’t use the same legacy, so this time I went with a curse:

June 22, 1919
Donal McKenna,
Ye might have found happiness with another woman, but yer progeny will pay for this betrayal of me. I call on my faerie blood and my powers as a witch to give yers only sorrow in love, for should they act on their feelings, they will put their loved ones in mortal danger.
So be it,
Sheelin O’Keefe

The challenge is to keep from repeating myself. I first have to think about how to play out the legacy and the romantic conflict so each book is different from the rest. It’s a challenge I love. And if you haven’t done so already, I hope you’ll love discovering the McKennas.

Patricia Rosemoor

Holiday Hell

2010-12-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Many men would rather poke their eyes out with a stick and Nick, Jazz's vampire honey, is no different as you can see.
"Have a wonderful Christmas!" one perky clerk chirped.

"Only fourteen shopping days left!" Another had to chime in.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!

I saw Santa kissing Santa Claus.

All I want for Christmas is ---

"Peace and quiet," Nick growled, literally, as he prowled the mall from hell. He really should have chosen the Magick Mall for his gift shopping needs, but since they don't have a Nordstrom, Sephora or Victoria's Secret, he was screwed and doomed to shop at the mall that offered all three and more since he doubted Jazz would appreciate receiving a check or even gift cards. Not to mention reloading her Starbucks card wouldn't go over too big either. No, he had to vampire up and do this thing.

He hadn't celebrated the holidays in decades and couldn't remember if he and Jazz ever had, but he vowed he'd do what it took to do it this year, even if he began to think a stake through the heart wouldn't be all that bad after all.
And what idiots are at a mall at eleven o'clock at night?! Other than him, that is. And all for those holiday bargains. The late night shopping hours were great for him since he was a vampire, although he could venture out during the day when it was cloudy. But we're talking sunny California and lately, December was more like July. Hence, his showing up now.

He hated shopping. He tended to order his clothing on line and have them delivered. But he doubted that Jazz would appreciate the personal touch, although he did find something for Krebs on line and even an elegant dog bed for Fluff and Puff that he knew they'd enjoy reclining on when they were on Jazz's feet. He even picked up a few DVDs for Irma's collection.

Now was the most difficult, yet interesting, shopping chore ahead of him.
"Would you like to try our new perfume, Midnight Madness, for your lady's pleasure?" One clerk asked, holding out a crystal bottle.

He reared back and just barely kept his fangs hidden. No way he could tell her he could smell that one and more.
"No thanks, but I may be back." He knew Jazz loved different perfumes to wear according to her mood and that one should work for her.

And what did Nick learn? That Sephora held more smelly stuff than his enhanced senses could handle. That he could see why Jazz spent a small fortune on skin and body products and he REALLY WANTED THE HADES OUT OF THERE.

Victoria's Secret was another hellish trek as overeager clerks were only too happy to assist him and he didn't think it was because they were thinking of sales. Not when he kept finding notes with names and phone numbers tucked into his jacket pocket. He winced at the grand total, but the idea of Jazz modeling the colorful silk chemises and thongs he picked up helped soothe the pain.
By the time Nick left the noise and mayhem of the mall and walked out to his Jeep Wrangler, he experienced something he hadn't felt in centuries.

He had the headache of all headaches and the knowledge the way things were going he'd be doing this again on Jazz's birthday.

E-Book Thursday Guest Blogger -- Phoebe Conn

2010-12-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

Please welcome Phoebe Conn! I remember reading Phoebe's wonderful fantasy books and meeting her years ago. So I'm very glad to have her here talking about her latest book.

DEFY THE WORLD TOMATOES

DEFY THE WORLD TOMATOES has just been released by Samhain Publishing. It’s a contemporary romance with a dash of suspense, and the provocative title catches everyone’s notice. When an author is able to pique a reader’s interest with her title, she can more easily lure her into reading the book.

Looking at my backlist, I have to laugh at some of my own titles, and some chosen by editors, or publishers. My first book, LOVE’S ELUSIVE FLAME, had a heroine named Flame, and I just had to use her name in the title. I’ll admit now it was more or less a spoof of romance titles, but it stuck. My editor chose SAVAGE FIRE for my second book because it had a Native American hero and at that time, Zebra used savage for those books whenever they could.

My editor also chose ECSTASY’S PARADISE for my third book. I complained it was nearly impossible to pronounce, but I was overruled. CAPTIVE HEART was my title for a Viking story that made the New York Times bestseller list. Several books then had editor’s picks, but I chose TENDER SAVAGE for a story about the Minnesota Sioux uprising in 1862. My agent cried, “It sounds as though he’s been parboiled!” Perhaps, but the book is still many fans’ favorite.

Roberta Grossman, the late publisher of Kensington Books, chose NO SWEETER ECSTASY, TEMPT ME WITH KISSES, and LOVE ME ‘TIL DAWN. I prefer titles related to the action in the story so the reader can remember it. Her titles were generic romance titles that could have gone on any book. She was a wonderfully enthusiastic publisher though, and I didn’t argue with her.

Just for fun, I came up with a title for my first futuristic Cinnamon Burke book, RAPTURE’S MIST, that said absolutely nothing about the content. It was more or less a private joke, but my editor at Leisure, Alicia Condon loved it! I learned my lesson right there and gave titles more serious thought before submitting them!

My second book with Samhain will be a June release, and my editor asked for a new title because they had already used the one I’d chosen. The heroine is rebuilding her life after being widowed and I got busy dreaming up titles that related to her success. My editor chose WHERE DREAMS BEGIN from my list and it’s a title I love. It frames the story beautifully, and has an appealing uplifting quality. Even better, the manuscript is already finished!

You’re probably still wondering how I came up with DEFY THE WORLD TOMATOES.
I’m still close with a childhood friend who owns a jewelry design studio. I’ve taught classes there and went with her when she did art fairs. At one fair, there was a man selling plaques with the colorful labels once used for produce crates. There was a company named Defy the World, and there was their label for tomatoes. “Defy the World Tomatoes!” I said, “That’s the best title I ever heard.” Then all I had to do was write the book. The plaque is in my kitchen, and will always have a place in my home. The book has gotten great reviews, and I’m proud the title inspired such a well-regarded book. It’s certainly a backwards approach to writing, but it worked.

Has a title ever caught your eye and enticed you to pick up a book? Have you ever found a title that misled you as to the book’s content? Have you ever found favorite books’ titles impossible to remember because they are so similar to other titles? If you could write a bestseller, what would your title be?

I’d love to hear your comments and will give a pdf copy of DEFY THE WORLD TOMATOES to someone with a dynamite title!

Please look for my books at www.SamhainPublishing.com
Dorchesterpub.com
AWritersWork.com and Backlistebooks.com
Phoebeconn.com

Holiday Movie Time

2010-12-08T00:01:00.001-08:00

I dug out my holiday collection movies right after Thanksgiving and looked for new ones. Not to mention watching them on TV.

I’m such a sucker for the holidays. :}

Movies for this time of year are such fun, because you can choose from animation, romantic comedy, humor, and drama. Scrooge isn’t just in the past any longer, families blending the holiday, couples discovering each other, animated characters that give Christmas a whole new meaning. Jack Skellington wanting to be Santa Claus. Tim Allen getting the job without an interview. Vince Vaughn is actually Santa’s brother. Who knew?

Barbara Stanwyck pretending to be a homemaker when she can’t even boil water, but still manages to snare cute Dennis Morgan at Christmas.

The Kranks deciding to skip Christmas so they can take a cruise, but discovering what really mattered that time of the year.

So many versions of A Christmas Carol including Mr. Magoo as Scrooge, Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchett, even Mickey Mouse doing his thing.

And every year it seems I add to my favorites.

So many to name, but I’ll give you a few that I always watch. Christmas in Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck, Holiday Affair with Robert Mitchum, It Happened on Fifth Avenue which is a cute little comedy, Miracle on 34th Street, It’s A Wonderful Life, White Christmas, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, the three Santa Clause, Fred Claus, Four Christmases, Christmas with the Kranks, any version of A Christmas Carol, Shrek The Halls, and Madagascar Penguin holiday cartoons.

What movies do you enjoy this time of year?

Linda

Holiday Magick

2010-12-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's listing to the right."
"It's straight."
"You call that straight? I called it old man crooked." Jazz shot Krebs a look that said 'fix it or else!'
Her housemate blew out an exasperated breath as he stepped back a few paces and studied the tree. She was right. It was leaning a little too far to the right.
"I'll have to secure the damn thing to the wall," he muttered. "You had to have a ten-foot tree, didn't you?"
"The room cries out for a large tree." She held her arms out to encompass the huge living room that was bright with twinkle lights threaded through green garlands decorated with red velvet bows. Holiday music played in the background.
Krebs grunted as he struggled with the heavy tree. He shot a glare toward the man lounging on the couch. "You could help, you know. Vampire strength. Pick the tree up as if it was a toothpick and all that."
"This is your tradition, not mine." Nick grinned. "Besides, I'm enjoying the show you and Jazz are giving me as you argue about decorations and a tall tree." But he took pity on the human and went over to help steady the tree. "Perhaps someone will add her magick to the tree." He lifted an eyebrow at Jazz.
"What would you guys do without me?" She held her hands out. "Getting close to the date. Want the tree to be long. So stand up straight and stand up strong. Because I said so, damn it!" To go with the holiday spirit her magick left her fingertips in red and green sparkles, traveling to the tree and wrapping it in power. The tree immediately stopped listing to the right. "And no holes in the wall," she told Krebs.
"That works for me. Think you can do the lights too?"
"Putting lights up is guy work! I put up the ornaments and icicles." She held up a silvery strand of tinsel.
Krebs gritted his teeth as Jazz directed the placement of the strands of lights. "I thought this was guy work."
"It is, but you still need to know where they go." She handed him the star tree topper.
"What did you do before you had me to boss around?" Krebs asked.
"I had a three-foot tabletop tree, but this is so much better." Jazz sorted through the ornaments until she found the one she wanted and carefully placed it on a branch.
Fluff and Puff slid into the room, chattering away to themselves. They headed for the red basket filled with candy canes and grabbed one, growling and snapping at each other as they fought over the peppermint treat until it broke in half. Each retreated to an opposite corner to enjoy their booty while keeping an eye on the other to make sure it wasn't taken away from them.
"No, the angel has to go up there." Jazz pointed up and up and up.
Krebs sighed. "I'll get the ladder."
"I can take care of that." Nick levitated to the branch Jazz indicated and carefully hung the ornament.
Between Jazz's direction, Krebs and Nick doing her bidding the tree was decorated from top to bottom.
"Any reason why you couldn't do the witchy thing and just send the ornaments onto the tree?" Krebs asked.
"Sure, but it's not as much fun as making sure they're where they belong. I do great work." She beamed as she studied the tree.
Nick and Krebs exchanged a look. "Who does great work?" They asked in unison.
"I was the brains, you were the brawn." She waved off their words. "It's a beautiful tree."
With the drapes open, the tree was perfectly framed in the huge bay window that faced the street. With icicle lights decorating the house, twinkle lights blanketing the shrubs and lighted lollipops and candy canes along the cement walkway, the house was a holiday confection.
"Let's go outside and see the full effect!" Jazz grabbed the men by the hand and pulled them outside. They stood on the sidewalk to admire the final effect.
"Even prettier than last year," she pronounced.
"I have to admit you do good work." Krebs hugged her.
"Jazz has always loved the holidays," Nick said.
"Especially presents." She looked from one to the other.
"You know the rules. We wait until the morning of December 25 and not one minute sooner. It's cold out here. I'll make Irish coffee," he offered, heading for the front door. "You can drink that, right, Nick?"
"Thankfully, I can." He slipped an arm around Jazz's waist as they walked up the walkway.
"Gross!" Krebs stared at Fluff, or maybe it was Puff. "They ate peppermint and that came out of them?"
Jazz held her nose as she waved her hand through the noxious air that seemed to get worse by the minute. "I should have remembered that peppermint doesn't agree with them."
"I guess we'll be drinking our Irish coffee in the kitchen." Krebs led the way.

Holiday Treats

2010-12-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

The holidays are all about color, music, lights, laughter, family, and friends. But wait a minute! That’s not all. There’s something wonderful to bind it all together.

Good food and fun treats.

Everyone knows I love to bake and there were been years I’d felt as if I spent days in the kitchen. Still, the end results were always worth it and I shared with friends.

I have my usual recipes and I try a couple new ones every year. Some remain in my recipe files and some don’t.

Is there anything better than walking into a house that smells like a bakery? Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, chocolate, cream cheese, peppermint. Whatever gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling?

The following are a few of ones I enjoy making this time of year.

One cookie that’s fun to make. Buttery cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar that come out rich and chewy. And it makes the kitchen smell so good while baking them.

Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup margarine, softened 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp sugar
2 eggs 2 tsp cinnamon
1 3/4 cups flour 1 tsp cream of tartar

400 oven
In large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla and eggs. Blend flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt into creamed mixture. Combine 2 tbsp sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into 1 inch balls, roll balls in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. bake at 400 for 8-10 min or until set.

chocolate snickerdoodles -- 1/2 cup cocoa can be substituted for 1/2 cup flour. Bake at 400 for 6-9 min.

These cookies are sooooo good! Time-consuming to make, but the end results are worth it. Yes, you could make them to share, but after you eat a few, you won’t want to.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Filling -- 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Cookie -- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup margarine, softened
8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
reserve 2 oz. for frosting
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder

Frosting -- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa
1-2 tbsp milk
reserved 2 oz. cream cheese

Combine peanut butter and powdered sugar, blend until smooth. Chill while mixing cookie dough.

Cream brown sugar, sugar, margarine and 6 oz cream cheese until light and fluffy. Blend in egg and vanilla. Blend flour, cocoa and baking powder into creamed mixture. Shape dough into 1 inch balls, place 2 in. apart on cookie sheets. With thumb, make imprint in center of each cookie. Fill with 1 tsp filling. Bring dough around filling to completely cover. Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes. Cool.

Mix frosting ingredients together and spread over cooled cookie.

Mine usually come out larger than they say. And I seem to only make them at Christmas time since they're so addicting! They've become addicting to my friends and family too!

These candies aren’t just for holidays. If you like Snickers bars you’ll love these.

Choconut Caramel Bars

2 pkg milk chocolate chips
4 tbsp shortening
2 14-oz pkg caramels
4 tbsp water Choconut
2 cups peanuts, chopped

Melt 1 pkg choc. chips and 2 tbsp shortening-takes about a minute or so in microwave. Stir until smooth. Pour into 9x13 foil lined pan. Refrigerate until firm. Melt caramels and water-about 2 to 4 min. in microwave. Stir until smooth then fold in the peanuts. Pour mixture over the cooled chocolate, spread evenly, and refrigerate until firm. Top with remaining chocolate and refrigerate until it’s set.

Halve recipe if using 8 in. square pan, but do you really want to do that?

I discovered this recipe several years ago and it was an instant hit. If you love dreamsicles you will love this fudge.

Marbled Orange Fudge

1 1/2 tsp plus 3/4 cup butter—divided (it also works just fine with margarine)
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 pkg vanilla or white chips
1 jar marshmallow creme
3 tsp orange extract
orange food coloring

Grease 13x9 pan with 1 1/2 tsp butter. Combine sugar, cream and remaining butter. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 4 min. Remove from heat, stir in chips and marshmallow creme until smooth. Remove 1 cup, set aside. Add orange extract and coloring to remaining mixture. Stir until blended. Pour into pan. Drop reserved marshmallow mix by tablespoonfuls over top. Cut through mixture with a knife to swirl. Cover and refrigerate until set. Cut into squares.

I’ve tried other flavors and while they taste great I always return to the orange/vanilla combo. You can try chocolate and mint, chocolate & coconut and put coconut in the coconut part, lime extract and vanilla, peppermint, maybe even cinnamon!

The holidays are all about the senses, so with this we have smell and taste. How great is that?

Linda

E-Book Monday -- Guest Blogger Jeffrey A. Carver

2010-12-06T00:01:00.000-08:00

Please welcome today's guest blogger Jeffrey A. Carver!

I enjoy reading science fiction and so fun to have him here!

What's a science fiction writer doing in a place like this? he asks himself, looking around warily. Book lovers, from the appearance of the joint. Romance, okay. Seems friendly enough. They must be okay. They like books, and they asked me to come.

Well, hi—I'm Jeff. Jeffrey A. Carver, they call me on the book covers. The reason Linda and I know each other—though we've never met in person—is that we're both doing the same thing: bringing our out-of-print books back to life, self publishing them as ebooks. Self-repubbing, I call it. Ebooks are something I've been involved in for years, but this part is new to me.

My first ebook-reprints were released years ago through an outfit called E-reads, founded by my agent Richard Curtis. E-reads was on the cutting edge, so cutting that there really wasn't much audience for the product yet. I wasn't a fan of ebooks myself, to be honest—not until I started creating my own ebook reprints for free giveaway, and found that I love ebooks. Here's how that happened:

I've been working for years on an SF series called The Chaos Chronicles, published by Tor Books. The first three volumes, starting with Neptune Crossing, came out to a good reception. But, for a variety of reasons, there was a gap of a decade between those first three and Book Four, Sunborn. You want to guess the availability status of the first three by that point? Right. Coming out with a fourth novel in a series, when the first three were out of print, seemed like a recipe for disaster to me. So I decided to release those first three myself, for free download from my website. I did, and they did—download the books, that is—by the tens of thousands, over two years. I was building my audience, and many of them said thank-you with Paypal donations, and some said thank-you by going on to buy my other ebooks. Not in vast numbers, but enough to be encouraging. What it didn't do was drive paper sales. Those were in the doldrums, and stayed there.

So a few months ago, I decided to shift gears. Pull back on the freebies (not to none, but to less) and put the novels into the Kindle store and Smashwords for a few bucks each. That's what I've done, and in the process became part of a cross-genre collection of authors called Backlist eBooks, and related communities of traditionally published writers, all taking on the great experiment of self-repubbing their backlists. Right now, I have these three books: Neptune Crossing, Strange Attractors, and The Infinite Sea, out under my own imprint, Starstream Publications. I added new afterwords, reflecting a bit on the evolution of the series and what it was like to write the books.

In case you're wondering what the books are about, here are a few brief squibs:

Neptune Crossing Kindle Smashwords
When John Bandicut encounters an alien intelligence on Neptune's moon Triton, his life changes irrevocably. Urged by the alien quarx now sharing his mind, he accepts an audacious mission—to steal a ship and hurtle across the solar system in a desperate bid for Earth's survival.

Strange Attractors Kindle Smashwords
For John Bandicut, Earth is but a memory. Stranded outside the galaxy in a vast structure peopled by a thousand races, Bandicut finds unexpected friends—only to be caught up in a cascade of irresistible forces. Confronting an entity known as the boojum, Bandicut discovers that the Shipworld itself is in peril, and only he can intervene.

The Infinite Sea Kindle Smashwords
Flung to an alien ocean world, John Bandicut and his companions find themselves plunged into the deepsea realm of the Neri. What will they find in the Neri's failing undersea city, or in the terrifying object of the deep abyss? Book 3 of The Chaos Chronicles continues the hard-SF saga inspired by chaos theory—with an all-new Afterword by the Nebula-nominated author of Eternity's End.

You're all romance people here, right? The answer is yes, there is romance out among the stars, even when you're a lone human in the company of aliens.

Soon I hope to have one more book up: Eternity's End, part of my Star Rigger universe. That one was a Nebula Award finalist. I'm working with a cover designer, and when it's finished I want to go back and redo the covers for the Chaos books. Here's what Eternity's End looks like in its print edition:

This is all still a great experiment for me. Stay tuned, and we'll all see what happens. If you'd like to see my free samples, and even download a free copy of my TV tie-in, Battlestar Galactica: the Miniseries, please visit my downloads page. To see a complete listing of all my ebooks, visit my ebooks page or my Amazon Author page.

And by all means, drop in anytime at my blog, Pushing a Snake Up a Hill.

Say, is there any coffee around here?

—Jeffrey A. Carver

The Holiday Hunt Is On!

2010-12-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

Yes, another scavenger hunt going on! And I've offered up some hexy goodies and books.

Just go to Night Owl Reviews to find out what's offered.

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Pages/WinterWonderlandDetails.aspx

The Halloween Hunt was a blast. Good luck!

Linda

E-Book Thursdays -- Guest Author Lynn Michaels

2010-12-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Please welcome one of my closest friends who's also an awesome author. How many of you remember her wonderful Harlequin Temptations and Bridal romances?

Now she's bringing her books back to a new life.

Linda

One of the toughest questions for an author to answer is “What’s your favorite of all the books you’ve written?” I’ve been known to go totally blank when asked that, but I’ll usually say, “All of them.” I don’t mean that to sound pat or off hand, it’s simply the truth.
If you asked me “Which of your books did you enjoy writing the most?” two that come instantly to mind are THE PATRIOT and AFTER-SHOCK. I had more fun writing those books than a person alone in a room with a computer should be allowed to have. I’m glad there are no laws against that.
The bad guy in both stories is a mercenary named Conan. That’s not his real name, that’s just what he’s called because he looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was only a movie actor when I wrote the books. He makes his first appearance in THE PATRIOT, and returns in AFTERSHOCK.
Like another of Arnold’s iconic characters, the Terminator, thanks to the boom in e-readers such as Kindle and Nook THE PATRIOT and AFTERSHOCK are baa-aack, this time as e-books. Both are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Preserving books is the coolest thing about e-publishing. A book never goes out of print; there’s no spine to crack and drop pages, and you can’t lose it. Though I suppose you could lose your reader.
For authors, especially category romance authors (THE PATRIOT and AFTERSHOCK were first published by Harlequin Temptation, a cate-gory line that sadly is no more) this is beyond thrilling. Why? Because the average shelf life of a category romance is three weeks. A book that took me 6 to 9 months to write has a sales window of 21 days and then, pffft -- it’s gone, outta there, pulled off the shelf to make room for the next month’s titles. The cover is stripped and returned to the publisher for credit. The rest of the book is tossed in a dumpster.
I can’t tell you how heartbreaking that is for authors. Plus it’s frustrating for readers who really wanted the book but somehow missed it. I know because I’ve been one of those readers.
Whoever said you can’t tell a book by its cover must have seen the original covers of THE PATRIOT and AFTERSHOCK.
THE PATRIOT had the worst cover ever, my editor even said so, and AFTERSHOCK wasn’t much better. Authors have no control over covers. We get what we get, and we all hold our breath waiting to see what art department comes up with.
My good friend Judy Johnson, a very talented artist, created the e-book covers that I’m sharing with you here. I love them!
If you like suspense and adventure with your romance then THE PATRIOT and AFTERSHOCK are your kind of books. I hope you’ll buy them and enjoy them, but there’s no rush. They’ll be there waiting for you, as they say in fairy tales, forever and a day.
E-books are a win for authors and a win for readers. Hallelujah! Can I have an amen?

I hope you'll come visit me and my books.

www.lynnmichaels.us

http://www.amazon.com/Aftershock-ebook/dp/B004BA54Z6/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1291225216&sr=1-7

http://www.amazon.com/The-Patriot-ebook/dp/B004BA550A/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1291225273&sr=1-13

Christmas Countdown

2010-12-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

It’s December!

Kids are singing how many days until Santa comes down that chimney.

Adults are penning gift lists, wish lists, and planning shopping trips with the same strategy of a military commander.

And the pantry is loaded with all the staples you need to bake all those goodies that you hope don’t add to inches to your hips and thighs.

How do you handle the holidays?

Do you shop online or hit the malls?

Do you have that list penned of who gets what or do you browse hoping an item will scream a family member or friend’s name?

Do you have those special hiding places the kids don’t know about? Or you hope they don’t know about.

I admit it. I love to gift shop. Yes, I love to shop for myself. I’m human, after all. :} But I also enjoy going out and finding just that right gift for someone. I shop both online and at the mall, although I sometimes like wandering the mall for their decorations.

Just about all of my friends are demented, so what can I say? They’re very easy to shop for. I look for fun items that I know will make them laugh. But I also love finding the fun girly items. We can’t have enough of those, can we?

Then there are the decorations. The crates holding ours is in the garage and I’m finishing putting everything up. It’s also a good time to sort out what we might not keep, even if that means always finding something new. I’ve already seen some items that I’m doing the ‘ahhh!’ moment.

I don’t do as much baking as I used to. Too dangerous to leave around the house, but I love to make a variety and share them. I’ll be putting up some recipes this month of what I tend to make this time of year.

We also have fun seeing the house decorations. A lot of fun to make a Starbucks run and drive around the neighborhoods or even walk around our own neighborhood along with seeing Santa when he drives through the neighborhoods along with a bunch of singers and their collecting for a food drive.

I’ve already warned Barney I’m getting him a jingle bell collar when I shop for his gifts from Santa Paws.

But even with all this, I have a book to write.

I’ll still manage my holiday fun.

What about you? What will December be like for you?

Linda

Ebook Monday -- What's On Your Wish List?

2010-11-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of my backlist books reverted to me and I knew I couldn’t allow them to just sit there and collect dust. No way could they lie around and do nothing when they could be out there being useful and hopefully attracting a new audience.

Plus, it’s fun to see them have a new life.

It’s a process where if I not longer have a digital copy of the manuscript I have to scan the actual book. Then I read it to make sure there are no glitches. And I have a new cover designed.

When I queried fans I learned that they didn’t want to read an updated book, but what was published at that time. And that’s what I’ve done.

So far, I have an urban fantasy novella up for all ebook readers and this week will be releasing one of my former Loveswepts, O’Hara Vs Wilder. I loved writing this book, which was a finalist for Romantic Times Best Loveswept Award for 1994 and the Romantic Times WISH award for June 1994.

With Christmas coming up and many people putting an ebook reader on their wish list or already have one, I thought I’d write about ebooks and invite friends to talk about their own backlist books they’re putting up.

There’s such a wide variety of ebook readers out there now. I’ve included pictures of the Nook, Kindle, iPad, and Sony Reader. It’s just a question of which reader appeals to you.

I got my Nook several months ago and I’m well and truly hooked. I also have the Nook and Kindle apps on my laptop and netbook. ‘She shall have books wherever she goes’.

There was a time when ebooks were considered the stepchild of publishing. That’s changed a great deal and the books out there show just how well done they are.

Plus look at the ease of having a reader. You can tuck them in your bag and you’ve got it wherever you go. Plus with WiFi you can shop wherever you are too. I’ve discovered a lot of awesome authors that I might not have noticed before.

So what about you? Do you own an ebook reader or is there one topping your holiday wish list?

Come by every Monday and Thursday to meet more authors who have also put their backlist books up as ebooks and hopefully, you’ll add them to your wish list of reading material.

After all, we can never have too many books, can we?

Linda

And I'd like to add that O'Hara Vs Wilder is now up for Nook readers and apps.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=2940011900082

Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/OHara-Vs-Wilder-ebook/dp/B004EEONOW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1291156997&sr=8-1

And at Smashwords for all other ebook readers.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31868

Hex Appeal In Spain

2010-11-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

I recently received the Spanish cover for Hex Appeal. It will be available in Spain in a few weeks, so if you happen to be traveling, you can find it there soon.

Linda

Black Friday with Jazz, Fluff and Puff

2010-11-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Why did we have to come with you?" Puff whined from his spot in Jazz’s Marc Jacobs pink leather tote, as she wove her way through the hordes of people that pushed around Jazz.

“Because you might come in handy.” Jazz had the grim determination you only saw one day a year. The day after Thanksgiving when serious shoppers came out to do their holiday shopping. She was there armed with credit cards, ready to do what it took to get all her shopping out of the way.

Fluff’s ears curved over the top of the bag, then his eyes peeped over, widening at the mob around them. “I’m going back to the car.”

Jazz tightened her hold on the bag. “No, you’re not.” She pushed her way into Nordstrom on the quest for the perfect gifts. It wasn’t long before she found a leather jacket for Nick, an even cuter leather jacket for herself, sweaters for Stasi and Blair, a wrap for Thea and she was still going strong.

“I want a pretzel,” Puff demanded.

“Later.” Jazz’s gaze narrowed as she spied a plum silk top across the store. She made her way there, but someone else saw the top too and there was only the one. “Create a diversion. Trip her,” she muttered, unceremoniously dumping them out of her bag.

“Pretzel,” Puff reminded her.

“Yeah, yeah.” But her mind was on the prize. The slippers growled their way among the shoppers, who tended to stay out of their way, yet not one screamed or fainted as their magick protected them.

Jazz remained behind them, watching the woman destined to lose the top, because IT WAS HERS. She started to throw out a freeze spell, but she made a promise not to use magick when shopping. Sigh! She quickened her steps and practically slid across the floor reaching out for the top the same time as the other woman.

“I believe this is mine,” the woman said frostily, practically jerking Jazz off her feet as she pulled on the hanger.

“I was here first.” Jazz was happy to see that Fluff and Puff were on either side of her new enemy. She wanted this top, damn it!

Just then the woman yelped and released the hanger.

Puff slid back, looking proud of himself. “Now I get my pretzel.”

“After I finish my shopping.” Jazz glared at the woman who looked ready to pitch into her. “Not getting this top isn’t the end of the world,” she told her before she walked off.

“Pretzel!” Puff raised his voice.

“You promised!” Fluff added his two cents.

“Give it a rest. I said I’ll get you guys pretzels after I finish here. Oooh, pretty!” She squeaked to a stop by a large rack of silk dresses.

Fluff and Puff didn’t say another word, but sulked big time as Jazz finished her shopping in the store and added more large shopping bags to her arms.

As she exited the store, alarms went off big time.

“What the –“ Jazz looked around to see who’d set off the security alarm when a hulkish type man wearing a khaki uniform came up to her.

“If you’ll come with me, ma’am,” he said quietly, taking her arm in a hold that said to come with him or else.

“What’s the problem?” She so wanted to zap him good, but she knew it wouldn’t be a good idea.

“We believe you have items you haven’t paid for.” He steered her toward the offices.

“Oh believe me, I paid for everything and have the receipts and depleted charge card to show for it.” If she wasn’t on probation with the Witches Council, she would have used a spell to get out of there without any fuss, but she knew the man was wrong and there was nothing she loved more than showing a man he was wrong. “So what exactly didn’t I pay for?”

Once in the office, she set her shopping bags down and looked the part of a disgruntled shopper. After all, she had more sales to plunder! More gifts to buy! And there was that gorgeous dress she saw in the paper that she knew would be perfect on her.

The security officer reached into one bag and pulled out two fluffy items.

Jazz stared at Fluff and Puff and laughed. “Are you kidding me? They’re mine. I brought them with me for when my feet get tired.” She gestured with her stiletto boots.

“Sure, lady. We all don’t believe in taking the price tags off our own items.” He dropped them on the desk, where, damn them, they didn’t move an inch and acted as if they were literal footwear, and picked up a phone. “And we have zero tolerance against shoplifters here.”

Jazz picked them up, gasped at the fifty-dollar price tag and glared at them hard enough to cause steam to come out of her ears. “You little shits,” she gritted. “You reveal yourselves now.” Nothing.

The guard shook his head and picked up the phone.

Ten minutes later, Jazz was escorted out of the office by a police officer. When she glanced over her shoulder at the slippers still lying on the desk, she saw Puff slowly close one eye in a wink and mouth the word pretzel.

So a word of warning.

If you’re at the mall and fangy see bunny slippers in the stores, have a a nice big soft pretzel ready. They prefer the cinnamon sugar ones.

Linda

A Hexy Thanksgiving

2010-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

“I don’t know if three turkeys will be enough,” Blair said, surveying the kitchen counters covered with roasting pans, mixing bowls, and various pots and pans on the stove. “Trust me, Jake eats a lot. There are all you can eat buffets that won’t let us come back.”

“And you demolishing the desert table doesn’t have something to do with that? The turkeys are twenty-six pounds apiece. We’ll be fine.” Stasi covered the sweet potatoes with marshmallows and popped them into the hot oven so they could brown. She paused long enough to sneak a treat to Bogie who barked his thanks and floated toward his soft and comfy bed.

“You did use cream and real butter in the mashed potatoes, didn’t you?” Irma wandered in with Phinneas, her spectral beau, in tow. “It’s what gives them the proper taste.” She heaved a deep sigh. “I miss eating.” She glared at Jazz. “You could let me change my wardrobe, but not allow me to eat? Get working on that spell, missy.”

“Yeah, like that’ll happen,” Jazz muttered.

“It’s a good thing we all have metabolisms that burn up all the extra calories and cholesterol.” Blair set the rolls on a cookie sheet.

“I brought the pies,” Maggie walked into the kitchen. She laughed her friends’ expressions of horror. “From my favorite bakery,” she assured them. It was a known fact the blonde witch’s culinary skills were on the same level as Jazz’s … none. “Four pumpkin, two mince, and one pecan. And …” She opened a pink bakery box to reveal five extra large custard filled éclairs topped with decadent chocolate frosting. For later, she mouthed.

“Ah, I see a lovely corner for moi.” Maggie’s diamond encrusted black widow spider tattoo skittered off the witch’s shoulder and headed up the wall. She pulled a tiny netbook out of a hidden pocket and began her web surfing.

“Where’re the guys?” Maggie asked, perching on the counter.

“Where else? It’s Thanksgiving Day so that means football,” Stasi said. “If we’re lucky we’ll be able to drag them away from the TV long enough to eat.”

“All you have to do is try it,” Jazz coaxed, leading Nick into the kitchen. “It’s not that bad.”

“How would you know? Have you tasted it?” The tall vampire followed her with a wary look on his face. “Plus, did you have to drag me away now? I’ve got money riding on this game.”

“Jazz, you’re not!” Blair and Stasi protested, aware what their witchy friend had in mind.

“It’s a great way for Nick to feel like he’s a part of the dinner,” Jazz argued.

“A glass of wine is just fine with me.” He started to edge his way out of the estrogen-filled room, but his witch’s firm hold on his wrist wouldn’t allow it, thanks to magick increasing her strength. No way she was letting him escape now. She used her other hand to pull a container out of the refrigerator.

“I’ve read fiction books where they come up with special blends. So why not this?” She dumped the contents in the blender and fired it up. She poured a little bit of the thick mixture into a glass and offered it to Nick who reared back as if she held a ball of fire.

“That smells terrible! What’s in it?”

Jazz looked into the glass but seemed to hold her breath. “Pureed turkey and cow’s blood.”

“That was what you put in our refrigerator?” Stasi cried. “Jazz!”

Blair and Maggie gagged at the idea.

“It’s not like I put bits of an entire dinner in there.” She held the glass toward Nick who kept backing away with his hands up. “Although I did think of some potatoes and green bean casserole.”

“Wine only,” he stated.

“Nikolai Gregorivich I made this for you and you will drink it!” She glared at him.

That was when Nick disappeared in the wink of an eye.

“I cooked for you!” Jazz shouted into thin air. She picked up the blender and headed for the sink.

“Wait a minute.” Horace grabbed it out of her hands and downed the contents. A loud belch followed. ‘Eh, I’ve had better.”

Which goes to show a gargoyle will eat anything if it’s Thanksgiving.

Holiday Season

2010-11-15T14:33:00.001-08:00

I always felt the holiday season would ease its way in once Labor Day was here. Summer was over, fall would show up, and we’d start looking to decorate rooms and houses.

Halloween is over. We’ve recovered from eating the leftover candy and pulled out fall inspired tablecloths and perhaps put out a scarecrow by the front door or a cute fall inspired door decoration.

Have you planned your Thanksgiving menu? Do you do all the cooking or share with family members? Go out?

Growing up I remember family and friends coming to where we had multiple tables and a full house.

When I was in high school my dad was away on business and due to a snowstorm couldn’t get back for Thanksgiving. My mom and I decided we’d go up to Knotts Berry Farm for dinner. They didn’t have a turkey dinner then, but that was fine. We had a chicken dinner, walked through the shops, and enjoyed ourselves. Years later, when numbers started to dwindle we decided to make that a tradition. We all would meet there for a turkey dinner and then enjoy the shops.

When we moved out of the area we still went out for Thanksgiving and now we’re back to having a meal at home, but with smaller numbers we have a more relaxing time with picking up the meal at the grocery store. I have to say it’s nice to let someone else do the cooking. I bake the pies and we fix up extras, but it’s not like we’re getting up at dawn to cut up veggies for the dressing, etc. It doesn’t mean I don’t make the food my own though.

What about you? Do you have fun memories for Thanksgiving dinners? What do you do to make the holiday special?

Linda

Totally cute dog video!

2010-11-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

Barney and I need to have a long talk!

Linda

Evolution of a Writer

2010-11-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

My first book was published thirty years ago this December. A year after my agent called me with the news that a brand spanking new publisher called Silhouette Books wanted to buy my first two books.

The best part was I wouldn’t be a one book writer and it was time to see if I could write more books.

Obviously, I could, and what a journey it’s been

Just like the transition from childhood to adult, it’s all an evolution of a writer and a person.

Back in the late 1970s I wrote books with a single point-of-view, alpha heroes who were usually quite a bit older than the tender-hearted virgin heroines and we won’t even go into the bitchy ‘other woman’ that tended to crop up. And love scenes were behind closed doors. Yawn!

And romance writers always wore pink, smiled constantly, ate bonbons, and chirped instead of talked. So not me at all.

Even back then I knew I wanted to write ‘more’ and I pushed the envelope any way I could. So many of us felt the same. It meant coming up more with more innovative storylines, and strong characters that stood out.

It meant writing hero oriented plots, role reversal stories such as my male housekeeper book, Caution Man at Work and Guardian Angel that featured a female bodyguard, and other books that offered a reader more.

Yes, it meant a lot more work, but it was worth it, because it allowed me to grow as a writer and even as a person. It always hasn’t been easy and times I wondered whether I should continue writing, but every writer will tell you it’s not something you can easily quit. Your imagination won’t allow it.

We never remain stagnant. I mean, how boring is that? And no way I want to be the same person I was 30 years ago. I want to move forward, change my hairstyle a few million times, the way I dress and how I think.

I know I couldn’t write what I wrote in the beginning because I’ve progressed so far. And I’d like to think it’s all for the better. That my evolution knew what to do with me.

Even now, I wonder what my next evolution will bring me.

What about you? Do you feel you’ve evolved over the years? That even if there’s been bumps in the road, you’ve kept going?

Linda

Brady's Hellion Now up For Nook Readers

2010-11-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

And more to come.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=2940011864315

My Muse

2010-11-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

It used to be that my muse changed according to the book I wrote. It would cover what book genre I read, movies I’d watch, even to how I’d feel inside.

Once I started writing the witches, Fluff and Puff, my fangy bunny slippers tended to whisper in my ear more and more. They claimed they were relaying what the witches had to say, but I think sometimes they were more into making sure they showed up on a regular basis. Shy and humble are not words in their vocabulary.

My muse likes to work in visuals. 3D movies inside my brain seem to be the norm lately. Sometimes Fluff and Puff are the guides, sometimes a future witch shows up to say “let’s discuss my story, shall we?”

But I need to work on the present book, not a future one! That muse is there, an arrogant Persian cat named Cleo, short for Cleopatra … yes, THAT Cleopatra. At least, that’s her story. And she doesn’t whisper in my ear, she speaks loud and clear, wanting to make sure I hear every word.

Perhaps that’s why cats are showing up at the house. They sense Cleo’s lure.

A muse is helpful. They tell us things we might not think of. We have someone to blame if it doesn’t go right. ‘I just did what my muse said to do.’

I like the idea of having a muse. Someone perched on my shoulder and giving me that much needed nudge when I need it.

Still, why can’t my muse be gorgeous and male? Am I asking too much to want that?

And what will turn up as my next muse? Will I finally get lucky and end up with a sexy male whispering all sorts of sexy suggestions in my imagination or will Fluff and Puff bound back demanding their share of chocolate and licorice root?

Tell me about your muse? You don’t have to be a writer to have one.

‘My muse told me I needed this top because it makes me look very sexy and ten pounds thinner.’

What does your muse do for you?

Linda

A Halloween Surprise

2010-10-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

“Are you sure Jazz said there was a party here?” Fluff looked through the tall iron gates at a house that should have fallen down in the 1800s. Spires rose high, partially blocking the moon.

“Yeah.” Puff stood beside him. “This is the address she gave me.”

“What do you expect for a Samhain party?” Horace grumbled, stabbing a button. The gates creaked and groaned as they slowly opened wide.

“Lights.”

“Music.”

“Candy,” they said in unison.

The trio walked up the drive toward the front door. They paused when a candle drifted past an upstairs window.

“Geez, she’s trying to scare us with a haunted house,” Puff said, now disgusted. “Come on, like anything could scare us. Whoa!” He ducked with a dark form swooped past his head, brushing his ears. “What the Hades was that?”

“Bats. I hate bats.” Horace raised a clawed fist in the air. “Outta here, you vermin! We were invited here.”

“So were we,” one bat responded in a squeaky snark. “We’re part of the atmosphere.” He flew off with his buddies. They all flew into a single digit formation.

“Your grandmother was eaten by Dracul!” Puff shouted, as they continued up the drive.

An owl hooted from a spindly tree and another owl flew nearby.

An eerie howl sounded from the house along with creaking doors opening and closing and a piercing woman’s scream cut through the air.

“Whoa.” Fluff skidded to a stop. “That was really loud.” He slid backwards a few paces. “How come there’s no cars here? Or party voices? And why didn’t Jazz take us with her and Nick?”

“Stasi and Blair wouldn’t let me go with them either,” Horace groused. He ambled up the wooden steps that groaned under his weight.

“They couldn’t have found a better place for a party,” Puff commented, looking at the porch, the splintered wood silvered with cobwebs,

Horace tried the lion-faced door knocker, but no sound was made. “Freaky.” He looked around and finally spied the doorbell button. He stabbed it then winced as another scream erupted throughout the interior. The door slowly slid open with a fingernails on chalkboard screech. “How lame is this.” He walked in with the bunny slippers behind him.

“Where’s the party?” Puff shouted. “And lights?”

“If there be light, let it be shown,” Fluff spelled. “Give us light!”

A lone candle beamed in the distance, floating mid air.

“Oookay.” The three started to turn toward the door that now slammed shut and sounds of locks snicking shut echoed in the air.

“There’s no party here. They sent us to a haunted house.” Horace bypassed the staircase and headed for the candle.

“No hauntings here.” A skeleton stood in a doorway. He grinned maniacally then suddenly disappeared.

“Ho ho, so not creepy,” Fluff sneered, his ears swiveling like a periscope. “We’ve been frightened by the best. There’s nothing you can do that will scare us.”

“Yeah, bring out your worst!” Puff challenged.

“There better be some hot babes at the end of this,” Horace demanded, leading the way down the long hallway where the suspended candle still beckoned with a soft orange glow. “Or at least really good food.”

Wooooo! A blast of icy air assaulted the trio from an open doorway. When they stopped to look they saw two women in shrouds floating in the room. Each only boasted half a face.

“Oh wow, I am so scared. I want my mommy,” Horace scoffed.

“Yikes!” Puff jumped in the air. “Something just touched me.” He looked around but there was nothing near him.

Fluff huddled closer to his brother. “I don’t think this is a good place for us. Let’s go home and raid the neighbors for candy.”

They froze when heavy footsteps sounded upstairs.

“That’s it. They’re up there.” Horace gestured for the bunny slippers to follow him just as the hovering candle winked out.

“Oh ick!” The first step slowed them down as something ooey and gooey attacked them. It grew more difficult as they climbed upward.

As they slogged up the last step a tall figure appeared.

“Welcome my pretties.” Jazz, wearing a black dress and peaked hat held out an old fashioned broom.

“Clichéd much, Jazz?” Puff laughed. “You really thought all that stuff would scare us?”

“Come with me,” she invited, turning gracefully, her voluminous dress sweeping around her body.

“I see our honored guests have arrived.” Nick, handsome in evening clothes and red silk-lined cape popped into sight. His fangs shoe white in the darkness.

“Gee, if only we’d known it was a costume party.” Horace laughed, holding his arms over his rounded tummy.

“Hey!” Fluff snarled and snapped his own fangy teeth at a rat that ran across him.

They followed the witch and vampire down the hall, pausing every so often to view portraits turn from normal people to horrific faces, sneer at blood running down the walls, and hands shoot out to grab them.

“The haunted house in Hollywood was better than this,” Puff told Jazz.

“Ah, but this one has something very special for you,” she intoned in a deep voice.

“Something you may not appreciate,” Nick used his best Bela Lugosi voice.

The room they reached was huge, yellow from candlelight and a fire burning in the massive fireplace. Stasi and Blair were dressed in their own witchy garb, while Trev wore dark purple wizard robes and Jake wore his Border collie fur. Ghostly Irma wore an eye-bleeding colorful mini dress from the 1960's while her spectral beau, Phinneas could have been the sixth Beatle. They were scarier than the other supes in the room.

"Peace baby!" Irma chirped, holding her two fingers up in the traditional sign.

A large table laden with food beckoned the hungry slippers and gargoyle, but they quickly discovered they couldn’t get to it.

“What the hell is going on?” Horace demanded.

“Yeah!”

“There is something that needs to be done first.” Jazz snapped her fingers. A large bubbling cauldron appeared nearby. Steam roiled upwards along with the rich smell of herbs.

Horace sniffed appreciatively. “Stew?”

Fluff and Puff backed up when they saw Jazz’s smile. Except there was no where to go when they found themselves surrounded by witches, vampires, wizards, and Weres, oh my!

“Something you three have needed for some time now,” Blair said, caressing the coarse bristles of her broom.

“And once it’s done you can eat all your tummies will hold,” Stasi promised.

“What’s done?” Fluff asked suspiciously.

“It’s a trap!” Puff shouted, but it was too late. “Get us out. Get us out! Get us out!” He pointed his ears in the air, but his magick fizzled out like a dead 4th of July sparkler.

The three cowered and howled with displeasure as the witches each picked one of them up and carried them to the large cauldron.

“Exactly,” Jazz said, dropping Puff into the hot water.

“WAH!” But it was too late.

Fluff, Puff, and Horace were now terrified as they’d never been fearful before.

After all, what can be more horrifying than a Halloween bath for smelly dirty slippers and gargoyle?

Zoe's Blind Date

2010-10-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Every woman needs a night out with a member of the opposite sex and tonight was all for Zoe.

She wore her favorite basic black dress accented with her favorite sparkly necklace, bracelet, and earrings. A spray tan gave her much needed color and her best friend, Ramona, even managed to make her wild nest of hair look decent.

“So, Harry, I understand you’re a dentist.” She smiled, careful not to show her teeth too much. Dental care hadn’t been a priority lately.

“Yes.” He shifted in his chair looking a little too uneasy. He managed a brief smile. “Uh, you didn’t say what you do.”

Zoe sipped her wine and looked around, admiring the candlelit restaurant with its elegant surroundings.

“I’m a personal consultant,” she replied, looking up when the waiter set her steak in front of her. Oh good, nice and rare. Just the way she liked it.

Zoe didn’t mind that she carried a bulk of the conversation during the meal. She enjoyed talking to people and since she didn’t get out a lot, she planned to make this evening one to remember.

By the time dessert arrived, Harry had relaxed enough to even smile at her and relate a few humorous anecdotes about his patients.

And when they left the restaurant and it turned out Zoe’s car wouldn’t start, Harry insisted on driving her home instead of her calling for a cab.

“Please come in for some brandy,” she invited, once they arrived at her house. “I feel so bad you had to drive out of your way.” She lightly placed her hand on his arm.

Harry hesitated then nodded. “Sure, why not?”

Zoe guided him to the living room then headed for the kitchen to get the bottle of brandy and a couple snifters. She always believed in being properly prepared.

“I’m so glad you came in. I get out so rarely that it’s lovely to have company.” She sat down next to him and poured a bit of brandy in each snifter.
Harry started to lift his glass to his lips when he noticed something floating in the alcohol. He recoiled in horror.

“Oh no.” Zoe winced as she took the glass from his hand. “I am so sorry this happened.” She fished the fingernail out of the contents and placed it on the coffee table. “And I used that heavy duty glue too.”

Harry practically climbed over the back of the couch. “What the hell are you?”

Zoe moved so fast he didn’t get far.

“I’m your blind date, Harry. Just your everyday zombie woman looking for a good time and a great meal,” she informed him, widening her mouth to reveal a set of razor-sharp teeth. Her nails lengthened and fastened tightly on his arm.

“But you ate.” His eyes rolled around like marbles in a circle.

“Oh, the steak was just for show and it did make a very nice appetizer,” she told him. “But I really prefer something a lot fresher.”

Harry had no time to even scream before Zoe’s fingers broke his skull open and scooped out his brains.

*****
Zoe was snacking on her date’s bone marrow as she wiped the blood and gore off her couch.

“That salesman assured me the fabric was protected against all forms of stains,” she grumbled, pouring on more upholstery cleaner. “I guess I’ll just have to invite him out here and show him that wasn’t the case.”

Don't Forget the Halloween Hunt Is Near The End!

2010-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Halloween is nearly here and I don't want you to miss out on all those haunting goodies. Visit their site and begin the hunt!

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Pages/Hunts.aspx

Linda

Guest Blogger -- Lizzie Leaf

2010-10-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Please welcome my good friend, Lizzie Leaf, talking about the fun stuff in her awesome books!

Humor is Good, Even in Bloodsuckers!

I like humor in my life. I like to read humor and to write it. So when approached to write a Halloween story, no surprise my mind went in the humor direction.
When I mentioned to a friend the possibility of a vampire story that wasn’t horror, she suggested making the heroine Jewish (which my friend is) and throw in Kosher (yet again, my friend’s food style) to add conflict to the drinking blood issue. I took the bull by the horns and off I went. Thus evolved Waking Up DEAD, where the heroine is a socialite whose grandmother, a Reform Jew, keeps a Kosher Kitchen.
Our gal, is a little on the wild side…think Paris Hilton…and a paparazzi darling. Her connection with the hot guy in a vampire costume at her Halloween party, leads to a life change she’s not too pleased about.
She wakes up smiling pine and discovers, thank to the helpful stranger lurking outside the mortuary, she’s not one of the living dead. And, her new main food supply is blood. Yuk! She doesn’t eat food that’s snuggled with blood, let alone drink the stuff.
Not to bore you with details, I finished the book and moved onto other work—my vampire days behind me—so I thought.
After Waking Up DEAD released, readers started to ask, “When’s the next book in the series?” Series? My mind hadn’t gone down that path, so what to write next? Then another friend said, “How about a vampire who faints at the sight of blood?”
Once she planted the seed, my mind wouldn’t leave the idea alone and DEAD Faint came to be and with that the DEAD series. After that came DEAD Hunter, about what else…a vampire hunter (or so she thinks…snicker).
My publisher, Aspen Mountain Press, strongly believed in the series and selected the first two for DEAD Done Right, as their rollout into the print arena at Amazon.
Vampires don’t always have to be blood thirsty beasts. They can have an attitude that will make you smile and love problems, too. Check out Mary Janice Davidson’s, Undead series (which I had not read until after Waking Up DEAD released and readers said I had a similar style, to which I say “thank you for the compliment,”) and you’ll find humor.
Are there more in my DEAD series? You bet! My publisher planted the seed for DEAD Memory that released October, 9th. Here we have a werewolf heroine who stumbles upon a nude male in her neighbor’s yard. Nursing him back to health proves interesting when he has no memory of who is, and she’s not too sure what he is. He doesn’t smell human, he’s definitely not were, but how can he be vampire with the cross around his neck?
People have to stop planting seeds in my head. Combined with all that appear on their own, I have a headache. I’m off to pop a couple of martin and write…which is the only true way I can purge the noise.

Lizzie

My Backlist Is Being Made Available On Line

2010-10-25T14:07:00.001-07:00

Starting with a fun paranormal novella. So far it's on Amazon and hopefully at B&N soon.

Mercenary Brady Hayes hated it when debts were collected. Especially when he was called to the Underworld. But when Lord Shar called him in asking him to protect his sister, Raven, he had no choice but to agree.

What he didn’t know was that Raven would be a gorgeous bundle of demon easy to fall for or that her ex-boyfriend would want to make trouble.

But then, Brady wasn’t known to back down from danger or abandon a beautiful woman, even if she was from the Underworld.

http://www.amazon.com/Bradys-Hellion-ebook/dp/B0048ELR2E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1288040471&sr=8-1

Are You Superstitious?

2010-10-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

Black cats, four leaf clovers, and salt thrown over the shoulder

Are you superstitious? Do you go out of your way not to walk under a ladder or tread carefully so you don’t step on a crack?

And what about black cats? Do you make sure they come no where near you? Throw salt over your shoulder when you spill some?

How about more?

The sound of bells scares away demons because they’re afraid of the loud noise.

If someone is sweeping and sweeps over your feet you will never get married.

Three using the same match is bad luck.

A cricket in the house brings you good luck.

The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck averts epilepsy and other fits.

If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn you will not catch a cold all winter.

A rabbit's foot will bring luck and protect the owner from evil spirits if carried in the pocket. Hmmm, sure doesn’t give the rabbit any good luck!

Cover your mouth when you yawn, or your soul can go out of your body along with the yawn.

And these are just a few! What about you? Are you superstitious?

Linda

Winter Recipes

2010-10-23T10:46:00.001-07:00

Cold weather is here, so I've been digging through recipes I tend to make more during the winter than the summer. Here are a two of my favorites.

Chicken Taco Casserole

4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up in large pieces.
1 pkg corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 small can green chiles
1 cup milk

Mix soup and milk together in bowl
Tear tortillas into large pieces. Place pieces in bottom of 2 qt casserole dish. Layer with chicken on top, several spoonfuls of soup mix then shredded cheese. Start again with tortilla pieces making sure last layer is cheese.

Bake at 375 for 45 min.

Working Woman's Meat & Gravy

2 lb stew meat-minimum
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can water
1 can mushrooms--optional
1/8 cup ketchup
salt & pepper to taste--I use a little Schilling Season All and garlic pepper

Combine all ingredients into crock-pot, cook on low setting for 8 hrs or high setting for 4-5 hrs. Serve over rice or noodles.