Official Upcoming Release Schedule!

Due to changes in how my publisher assigns dates, I won't have release dates until I finish the book. I'm currently working on:

Taking the Realm which is book 3 of Sha and Connor's trilogy (previously titled Shaking the Balance)

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Musings from my Phone, Part 2 - Routines

I really shouldn't post from my phone right now because my poor hands are sore, in particular my thumbs, but I'll ignore common sense :)

What is it about routines? Why do we like them so much? Routines make me feel more comfortable. Every morning I meet a friend for breakfast and I have the same thing: maple and brown sugar oatmeal, skim milk, a fruit (strawberries usually) and I get a banana for later. Sometimes the work cafeteria doesn't have something and I'm left floundering to substitute one or more of my routine foods.

If only I had such a routine when it.came to writing! Alas, I don't really but that's another entry.

Routines make me feel calm and in control, but why is that? Am I really in less control of my life because I have to skip something in the morning before work or because I have to drink 2% milk instead of.skim? Probably not, but I still feel uncomfortable at having my routine shaken up.

I used to have a routine for blog work ans it helped keep things straight, so in some cases, routines are quite useful. I just need to find my way back to that one. I guess the trick to everything is moderation. Routines are good, but we have to be flexible. They can help us, but if we become too dependent on them, it can be disconcerting or even debilitating if we have to break our routines. Finding a balance so.that it works for you is key, I think.

Do you have any routines? Do you feel a little lost if you have to deviate from them?

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Tuesday Teaser 7/23/13

Tuesday Teaser from an as yet, untitled WIP!

"Your name is Dante? You're kidding, right?" Laughter bubbled up inside of her.

"Why would I kid about my name?" He asked, brow knitted in puzzlement.

"Dante's Inferno?" At his blank look, Marissa sighed. "You're a dragon, dragons breathe fire... Oh, forget it. It's not funny if I have to explain it."

Her eyes narrowed as his lips twitched, the movement almost imperceptible. "Jerk! You knew exactly what I meant, didn't you?" She accused, her tone filled with indignation and embarrassment.

"Did you really think I'd never her that before, Mari?" He asked and she heard a low rumbling emanate from his chest. Unbidden, her eyes trailed down, following the motion as he shook with barely suppressed laughter. Heat flared within her at the enticing view of chiseled muscles beneath bronzed skin streaked with dirt and a faint sheen of sweat. Mind suddenly blank, she struggled to remember what they'd been talking about.

When Marissa's tongue darted to moisten lips gone dry, Dante's eyes darkened with lust. "See something you like?" He asked, lowering the towel he'd been using to scrub the grime from his body. He advanced toward her, each step the slow, measured pace of a predator stalking its prey. "You'd better be careful, Mari. Don't you kkow that the princess always has to be rescued from the big, bad dragon?'

The warmth of his breath caressed her face, his lips hovering just above hers. Her fingers pitched to trail across his lean torso. She craved the feel of his hard body beneath her hands the way some women craved chocolate.

"In case you hadn't noticed, this isn't a fairy tale and I'm sure as hell no princess." Not giving him a chance to respond, she rose up, claiming his mouth with the hunger of a starving woman.

Musings from my Phone, Part 1

My new job blocks a lot of access to sites, one of which is Blogger. Therefore, any posts during the day have to be conducted from my phone on the Blogger App. This has made it a bit difficult to keep up with blog stuff since I used to do it in the mornings before I got started for the day. That's ok though, I've been inspired to start a new segment..."Musings from my Phone"!!

So what is this? Anything I think of lol. Just random musings I think of at work. They could be funny, relate to hobbies, or current projects. Anything goes!

Today, I want to ramble a bit about movies. Over the weekend I saw Despicable Me 2 and I've got to say, it was amazeballs. Definitely my new favorite movie. It had humor, a love story, hilarious minions and action. What more do you need? The thing I don't get, is.why do the damn things have to cost so much to see.depending on where you live? At my old house, the matinee lasted until 5pm and cost $5.50. Movies played for at least a couple of months unless they tanked. The theatre wasn't the greatest, but it was def good enough.

Here in my new city, however, it costs $8.50 for the matinee and it ends at 3:30. Despicable Me came out just a few weeks ago, but already it has only a few show times despite wild popularity. I hate feeling rushed to see a movie!

That being said, go see Despicable Me 2. So freaking awesome!! The icing on the cake? The minions do a rendition of "I Swear" which is the song my husband and I danced to at our wedding :D I laughed so hard when that started that my husband thought I lost my mind. Ok, it's debatable whether I have one to lose, but that's beside the point lol. You'll love this movie even if you don't have kids because according to hubby, I enjoyed it mode than the kids that were there :)

Time to get back to work! Until next time, mwah!

Fun projects coming up!!!

I do promise to get back in the game with my interviews and reviews, but I'm taking things easy to keep from overloading myself like I did before. I figure it's better to go slow than to take another extended absence, right?

But I do want to tell you what I'm working on!! I've got two ideas swirling around right now. One is an erotic romantic suspense featuring a dragon shifter. The other is a mystery. Bwahahhaha. Yes, I know neither of them are Waking the Phoenix, but in my defense, I haven't written for a while and want to give myself time to get my rhythm back so Waking the Phoenix is as amazing as what I have in mind.

I also plan on posting snippets. Any particular day you'd like them? ;) Mwah lovelies!!

Monday, July 15, 2013

A hard lesson

I'm writing from my phone so this probably won't be a long post. I've been very lucky in my life. In the 27 years I've been alive, I've been through a tornado, hurricane, earthquake, and various horrible weather, all without losing anything I held dear.

Last Wednesday, we had some rain. It has poured before, so I wasn't too surprised and we have a sump pump so I wasn't worried about flooding. Then the rain got a bit insane. My phone started exploding with flash flood alerts from the National Weather Service (didn't even know it would so that lol), but I still wasn't too worried. That sort of thing happens to other people, right?

I was stuck at work about 45 minutes from home when my husband called to say the garage had flooded. Usually, that wouldn't be a big deal, but we moved about 6 weeks ago and hadn't unpacked everything. There were still some boxes in the garage and some framed pictures, including one I've had my entire life and one that is an oil painting from a wedding photo. All I could think was "OMG". I was trapped in the city with no way to gauge the damage. My husband tried to explain what was happening but he had no way to really convey it. Your mind always thinks the worst. I wanted to get home so badly but had to wait until it was safe. The entire time, I wracked my brain trying to remember what would still be in the garage.

We were exceedingly lucky. Only a few inches of water flooded the garage, but it's amazing how much that can destroy. A number of favorite books, an irreplaceable photograph that reminded me of my parents and home, knick knacks. We lost some things I don't care too much about like kitchen gadgets and a digital camera. It's those sentimental things that hurt. It taught me a valuable lesson. Not only in the wisdom of not putting off unpacking, but in letting go of things. I'm a pack rat by nature and hate letting go of things. I waded through the damage, deciding what to try to salvage and what was a dead loss. I also learned to have hope.

The picture I was most devastated to lose, the irreplaceable sunset picture that had always hung in my parents house, is apparently not irreplaceable. An amazingly talented friend who can digitally paint will recreate the image. Another lovely friend will replace the signed book I'd bought from her. Most of all, I learned how lucky I am. This could have been so much worse. We lost things, nothing more. Our dog was home alone and if the water gas risen into the house, the loss could have been far worse. We are lucky to have gotten only a taste of the destructive power of water and I have a much greater respect for it now.

I know this isn't what I usually post, but I wanted to share it with you all, lovelies. I'll try to share more personal things like this in the future <3

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

I'm back!!

My dear lovelies, thank you for your support and loyalty these past couple of months as I worked through issues. I had mentioned that I was struggling with depression but with the help if some amazing friends and my wonderful husband, I'm feeling like my old self.

I've sorely neglected this blog but that's all going to change. I'm going to be back with some of the interviews I missed, interviews from some big names, reviews, and random rambling! I'll also have some big news for you all coming soon I hope.

Again, thank you all for your patience and I hope you're ready for the oncoming onslaught of duckies and insanity :)