Thursday, July 10, 2014

Thursday 13- Cheap Summertime Date Ideas

Doing activities together strengthen the bonds in a relationship. However, not everything has to lead to lovemaking, simply being together doing non-romantic things gives a relationship a boost. Social science researches have discovered key activities that seem to help couples stay healthily bonded.
* Taking on a challenge together
*Being active together
*Sharing interest or exploring new ones
*Celebrating or learning more about your partner
*Doing the sexy stuff
*Making time for talking and laughing


Here is my list of 13 Cheap Date Ideas:

1. Visit your childhood... 
visit your old elementary schools, climb on the monkey bars. Share stories about your childhoods.

2.Take a camping class....
North Face, Columbia, Coleman and Bass Pro shops offer one day Camping 101 classes.

3. Just get in the car and drive...
Pick up some iced coffees or ice cream cones and go for a drive. Need a destination? Open a map, close your eyes and put a pin on the map and see where you might head off to.

4. Picnic...
Pack a picnic and head to a park. A change of scenery is nice.

5.Visit an observatory...
Many are open to the public once a month for free or a small fee. Some include lectures or concerts.

6. Find a night program at a park...
Many state and national parks offer nighttime programs such as moonlight hikes and star gazing.

7. Take dancing lessons...
many dance studios and clubs offer free dance once-a-week classes.

8. Volunteer...
Habitat for Humanity has programs running all summer long.

9. Reenact your first date...
If you can't go back to the original location, simply get creative.

10. Go shopping...
You don't have to save shopping for when you need something, but go just to go and not be interrupted by kids. Enjoy the ability to look at everything. Don't be afraid to get a little silly... just don't get thrown out by security.

11. Go to a community event….
Concerts in the park and outdoor movies are common in many areas. 

12. Attend a local movie festival…
See one-of-a-kind movies shown in smaller venues.

13. Visit your local coffee shop…

They often host local poets and authors for readings as well as musicians.

CLICK HERE for more Thursday 13

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Tuesday Teaser - New Release from Sara Daniel

Please welcome a fellow DP author and writer pal...
Sara Daniel
*******
She's giving away a $25 Amazon Gift card !



My favorite school assignment ever was modernizing and retelling a fairy tale (sophomore English – Aced it AND got extra credit – Thanks  Ms. Seckler!), so when Decadent Publishing put out the call for a retelling of a Grimm’s Fairy Tale, my hand immediately shot in the air. I was given The Three Army Surgeons, an obscure, somewhat gruesome story that was definitely not a romance. (Read it here.)

At the beginning of the initial brainstorming, I thought, “You have got to be kidding me. What I have I gotten myself into?” But then I plunged in. Before long, I was giggling as I typed because Once Upon a Marriage was SO MUCH FUN to write. Yep, favorite assignment ever!

Time is running out for Armina Keer to have the baby she’s always wanted. Before she can move on with her life, she needs her estranged husband to sign their divorce papers. When she can’t get him to respond, her meddling uncles arrange for a trip to his inn. Despite vowing to guard her broken heart, she has to settle the past before she can have a future.

Ian Keer might not deserve a second chance with his wife, but he’s not going to give up one either, not with the immediate flaming attraction still between them. While her uncles’ antics wreak havoc on life at The Inn, he offers her the ultimate gamble: Spend the night with him, and afterwards he’ll sign the papers if she still wants to leave.

With everything riding on one night together, Ian must convince her that their love is strong enough the second time around, and Armina must decide if love is worth sacrificing her dreams.


Once Upon a Marriage
Retelling The Three Army Surgeons
By Sara Daniel

Excerpt:

“You hate me,” Ian whispered, feeling more nauseous than if he’d ingested a prosthetic eyeball. How could she not hate him when she believed their personal relationship had meant less to him than an employment issue?

Armina gazed beyond his left shoulder. “I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you. When we got married, I understood you had a strong work ethic combined with an unusual drive to succeed and a consuming passion for the Inn. I knew I’d come in second to this place.”

He opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but couldn’t. If she’d made him choose, he wouldn’t have picked her.

“I thought I was okay with it,” she continued. “After all, I loved the Inn, too, and wanted you to realize your vision for it. Turns out I wasn’t okay. I didn’t realize how distant second place actually was.” She shrugged her slim shoulders. “Live and learn, right?”

Not right. He wanted to take back the lesson and teach her about real love instead. “You never should have had to settle for second place. With me or with anyone else. No one has the right to ask that of you.”

“Agreed.” Her voice came out stronger, her shoulders squared, and she looked him directly in the eye. “Now you understand why I want a divorce.”

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Sara Daniel writes what she loves—irresistible romance, from sweet to erotic and everything in between. She lives her own happily-ever-after romance with her hero husband. Connect with her online at:
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Monday, July 7, 2014

Monday Mojo - Book Hangover


Due to the storm with the wonderful lightening show last night I stayed up reading and now am suffering a Book Hangover.

Book Hangover:
Book hang-o-ver (hang-oh-ver)

noun 
1. The inability to start a new book because you are still living in the old book's world 
2. The inability to function at work/school because you were up all night binge-reading
3. The headache you get after staying up into the wee hours of the morning staring at teeny tiny print.  

So what am I going to do today? 
Write.


Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy 4th of July

Independence Day has always been special to my family. We trace our heritage to Capt. James Avery who served under Gen. George Washington during the fight for New York. Thank you to my ancestor and his contemporaries for what they believed in and fought for.


Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Tasty Tuesday - New Release from Sarah Castille

New Release! Sexy fighter romance Yield to Me by Sarah Castille

Pick up for your summer reading at $2.99

BLURB
Below the belt, no-holds-barred attraction...

Amateur MMA fighter, Marcy Foster is determined to win the state championship. But dark secrets and a broken trust mean there's one submission she just can’t master. Fortunately Club Excelsior has hired a coach who knows all the right moves.

Sexy, confident and commanding, fight consultant Jax demands control, both in and out of the ring. But once he has Marcy against the ropes, Jax knows he’s in too deep. He has the dominance to give her what she needs, but once he unleashes her hidden passions, there's no going back.

Under Jax's skilled hands, Marcy submits to her deepest desires. But when her personal and professional worlds collide, she is forced to face a brutal truth—yielding to her darkest needs may be the one thing that costs her the fight...and her heart.

BIO
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah Castille, writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha males and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer and caffeine addict, she worked and traveled abroad before trading in her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home in shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Readers can find her at sarahcastille.com.

EXCERPT
“Mount.” Jax beckoned her forward, his voice curiously husky, and for a moment she wondered if his touching exercise had affected him as much as her.

Marcy crawled up his body and then sat astride his abdomen in Full Mount. God, his stomach was rock hard. Just like the rest of him.

Jax’s body stiffened beneath her. “Christ, Marcy. Are you trying to kill me?”

Puzzled, she shrugged. “I thought you wanted me like this.”

“I do. No. Hell. I mean…to practice the submission, you need to be in High Mount.”

Understanding dawned and she tried and failed to repress a smile. “Am I mounted too low for you, Jax?” She was sorely tempted to give a little wiggle because she could feel something hard pressing into her ass and she was desperate to know if he was wearing a cup. In all her years of training she’d never affected a guy this way and she had to bite back a laugh.

His eyes blazed with liquid heat and his voice dropped to a husky bark, “Move up.”

Marcy eased herself up, her thighs parting wider as she positioned herself high on his chest, her knees under his armpits. “High Mount is easier with female fighters. Your chest is so broad…”

He cut her off with a low growl. When she glanced down to see what she’d done to irritate him this time, she was caught in the blistering heat of his gaze.

“I’m on to you, little fighter.” His eyes glinted, amused. “Don’t think for a minute you’ll distract me from doing what I came here to do.”

A smile curled her lips. All week she’d had to listen to the fighters at the gym talking about the aura of mystique surrounding Jax and his “fighter whisperer” ways. And yet his visible discomfort at her position on top of him made him seem all too human. All too male. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

He raised an eyebrow and exhaled through gritted teeth. “How about we try for Mid Guard?” The warmth of his breath caressed her inner thighs and heat flooded her veins. How unprofessional. She’d practiced this position countless times with other fighters in the club. Not once had she ever wanted to tear off their clothes and…

“Actually, probably better if we move to Full Guard.” Jax bucked suddenly, throwing Marcy forward and onto her hands and knees, a standard defense to High Guard, but one that put her breasts within an inch of his lips.

Her nipples tightened and she quickly rolled to her back to hide her body’s response.

Jax moved into position on top of her, taking his weight on his elbows, his legs tucked between hers. So hot. So heavy. So masculine.

Dominant. Controlling.

Arousal coursed through her veins and she tried to think of anything but the erotic weight on top of her.
Coach. Training. Professional. But her body, now a live wire, wasn’t on board.

“How do you want me?” Her breathy voice shaded into a whisper.


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