A Favorite Military Series

The newest release in the LOST AND FOUND series by J.m. Madden is live at Amazon and B&N. EMBATTLED HOME (Lost and Found #3) deals with PTSD, so just wanted to give you a heads up. I believe J.M. Madden handles it well. Her series about wounded warriors has been acclaimed by veterans and their families from the beginning. I think my readers also will appreciate her realistic approach to Military Romance, she's a wonderful writer.

Here's the link for the new book at Amazon

It's also on Barnes & Noble 

I love these stories! If you are new to the series, get the first book FREE and FOR A LIMITED TIME the next two are only 99 cents each. J.M. says they're "stand alones", but if you like to read a series in order...

The Embattled Road (free intro/prequel, #.05)

Embattled Hearts (#1)

Embattled Minds (#2)

Embattled Home (#3)

 Check J.M. Madden's Amazon Author Page

J.M. Madden WEBSITE

J.M. Madden FACEBOOK

Fitness Friday - Have a Workout Buddy

A workout buddy is hugely helpful for keeping motivated, but it's important to find someone who will inspire—not discourage.

Can your pal meet to exercise on a regular basis? 
Is your partner supportive (not disparaging) of your goals? 
And last, will your bud be able to keep up with you or even push your limits in key workouts? 

Here's a snack for your brain:
The average romp in the hay is equivalent to a short jog.
Researchers at the University of Québec at Montréal measured energy expended during sex versus running, and found that we get our hearts pumping and muscles cranking enough during sex for it to be considered moderate exercise.

My advice is definitely choose your exercise buddy carefully.

Dragonfly Moments Birthday Blog Tour Stops Here Today

Thank you to Mary Quast for hosting me on your blog today. Mary writes 1Night Stand erotic romances for Decadent Publishing. It's the fifth stop of my tour today. Don't forget there are still great prizes to be won. Enter by clicking the rafflecopter link below.

Blurb:

Seven years earlier, a young and serious Tessa Calitz wrote a letter to free spirit Ryan le Roux promising her undying love. As time passed she forgot about that letter...but Ryan did not.

When he walks back into her life, Tessa is in a relationship and busy setting up her art gallery in Johannesburg. She has plans to start a family, and the arrival of Ryan throws her for a spin. He is the worst thing that could happen to her dream of stability...or is he?

When everything she clung to starts to crumble, Ryan is right beside her to inspire her to greater things. But her compulsion for having marriage and children on her terms alone pushes Ryan away--until she falls in love with an orphaned baby.

What can Ryan do to make Tessa realize that being with him is what her heart has longed for all along?

Here's a trailer of the book for a foretaste: Dragonfly Moments Book Trailer

Excerpt:

The swish of the door opening wider and the squeak of rubber-soled shoes on the polished floor caught her attention. A customer. Precious gold—so rare and so needed. Turning to face her potential sale, she put on a bright smile…that turned to jelly. The breath froze in her lungs.

“Ryan. Is that you?” she said with a whisper.

The man who had filled her dreams and inspired her whole art career years ago stood before her, taller, broader, tanned, and smiling wide. She had somehow thought he’d disappeared off the globe. Not much had changed. That slight curl to his hair, the dark halo a perfect frame for his broad-jawed, rugged face. Thick, velvet locks, the color of dew-soaked mountains and earth. Piercing eyes, like planets orbiting her heart. The longing of years seemed to converge on this particular moment. She pulled back, frightened by the intensity of her feelings.

“I like your new gallery.”

She shivered and clasped her chiffon top close to her chest. His voice had deepened over the years. He had matured like she had grown up, changed, and moved on.

“Thanks. I’ve been open for three months already.”

Her voice came out like a squeak. Her palms were moist and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him. He truly was the best artwork in the world—the way his body moved—the whole picture of him.

“May I?” He pointed to the art she’d spent days arranging perfectly on the walls.

“Of course.”

He paused before each painting as she held her breath, longing to read his mind on what he thought of them. Then he spent longer before her latest work. She moved up behind him and stared at the misty oil canvas in muted colors of a figure standing on a pier, overlooking a churning sea. The man appeared pensive and peaceful with the grey, choppy waves around him and the dark, billowing clouds above him. She followed the shape of the real man in front of her with her gaze. Who would have thought he would come here? All these years, she’d figured him gone forever. Buried under new dreams and desires. Little did she know her need for him could resurrect just with a brief encounter.

“How come they’re all landscapes?”

She shrugged. “Landscapes are my genre.”

Except for those crazy mother and child paintings stashed away at home that no-one’s ever seen. Days and days of her spare time were taken away painting a picture of an African mother with her newborn twins, a Chinese mother with a toddler in a pram, and the hippie mom with her baby in a pouch attached to her middle. The feeling bubbling inside her while she painted them had been unsurpassed by any other. What would Ryan think of them? It was safer that he didn’t know. Better he believe she was a landscape painter and nothing else.

He moved on to one of the other artists’ works. Did he hate her landscapes? Why did it matter to her so much what he thought of her art? Not like she still loved him. Not after all these years. But he had inspired her art in a way—got the ball rolling because she used to spend hours sketching him while he romanced her best friend and roommate, Annie. That felt like decades ago, yet was only seven years. Ryan had been the highlight of her waking hours then, her shy and aimless period when she worked in a mindless job for little pay, before she realized she could study her passion. Art.

“Where are your sketches?” he asked.

She frowned. “They’re at home. I stopped sketching my second year in college because that’s when I developed my best painting style. My sketches didn’t get me top marks.”

“But they’re so realistic.”

“You never looked at them.”

“I’ve studied the one. Constantly.”

She turned away, her face hot and the hairs rising on her arms in a wash of tingles. Had he come into the gallery on purpose? She strode to her desk, reaching it in a moment, relishing the distance between them. If Ryan could evoke such feelings in her now when she was with another man, would she ever be free from his grip? The heat of the room suffocated her, and she tried to take in several breaths. If only she had the power to block out the effect he had on her. So, he’d been thinking of the letter she sent him. The same one that disclosed her heart’s feelings toward him. Too late to come here now and talk about it. Stir up feelings she had no right feeling anymore. And why all the questions about her art? As if he really cared. Ryan didn’t care. If he did, he’d have come back to her years ago. 

Buy Links:

Decadent Publishing

Amazon

Amazon UK

Barnes and Noble

All Romance Ebooks

Smashwords

Where to find me online:

Website and Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Amazon

YouTube

If you click on the Rafflecopter link below, you could either win the grand prize of a $15 Amazon voucher or one of 5 dragonfly swag bags. I've made beautiful beaded necklaces in a variety of colours and designs - one for each bag.

Here's a pic of one of them:

Rafflecopter Giveaway

HumpDay Hottie

I'm busy writing and listening to some great tunes. 

Music inspires my work or makes the day go faster when I'm stuck cleaning the house.

Play some more for me, honey.

Tuesday Teaser - Letters to a War Zone by Lucy Felthouse

Lucy Felthouse is often my connection to the outside world. She shares my books and then introduces me to new books and authors to distract me from my writing.  LOL But that's something we all need. So now I'm going to distract my readers with on of Lucy's books they need to pick up. Please check out this new m/m military erotic romance. 

Blurb:

When lonely insurance broker, Bailey, gets himself a new hobby, he ends up exchanging letters with a war zone. But he’s not expecting what happens next…

Bailey Hodgkiss is lonely and dissatisfied with his boring life as an insurance broker. In an attempt to insert some variety, he signs up to a website to write to serving soldiers. He’s put in touch with Corporal Nick Rock, and over the course of a couple of letters, the two of them strike up a friendship. They begin to divulge their secrets, including their preference for men.

Nick encourages Bailey to add more interests to his life. As a result, Bailey picks up his forgotten hobby, photography, and quickly decides to team it up with his other preferred interest, travel.

Booking a holiday to Rome is his biggest gesture towards a more exciting existence, and he eagerly looks forward to the trip. That is, until Nick says he’s coming home on leave, and it looks as though their respective trips will prevent them from meeting in person. Is there enough of a spark between them to push them to meet, or will their relationship remain on paper only?

Available from: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/letters-to-a-war-zone/

Add to your Goodreads shelves: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20722128-letters-to-a-war-zone

*****

Excerpt:

After clicking all the available links on the website to find out more about it, Bailey decided to go ahead and sign up. He’d never know what it was really like unless he gave it a go.

He’d read about the site in an article somewhere, about how it linked people with serving soldiers, pilots, marines and sailors in order to write to them. It had been proven that receiving mail—even from someone they didn’t know—improved military morale. It sounded like a damn good use of time to Bailey, and it would be interesting, too.

He began typing his details into the online form. Of course, the chances were that he’d be paired up with a man, given the ratio of males to females in the forces. It didn’t matter, though. He could still exchange letters with a guy, become friends. It seemed like such an old-school way to communicate with someone, given how technology had come on over the years, but at least it was different. Perhaps it would give him something in his life to look forward to, something other than getting up, showering, going to work, coming home, eating, watching television and going to bed. The watching television—and even the eating—were occasionally replaced by nights out with friends or seeing family. Weekends were spent cleaning, washing clothes, gardening and odd jobs. Dull stuff, in other words.

He had an utterly mundane life, and Bailey knew it. It wasn’t even as if his job was exciting. Insurance broking was hardly thrilling, game-changing, or going to save the world. He didn’t expect having a pen pal to change his entire life, but it would certainly break the monotony. Hopefully.

He went through the various steps to fill in his details and create a profile, then continued right through to the information on actually writing and sending the letters. It looked straightforward enough.

His mind made up, Bailey immediately went in search of a pen, some nice paper and an envelope. Armed with a print out of exactly what to do when the letter was finished, he settled down at the kitchen table. Instantly, his mind went blank. What the fuck was he meant to say? He didn’t know any soldiers or other military personnel, didn’t know anything about their lives, other than there was a great deal more to it than shooting people and being shot at. His own existence was so fucking boring that he didn’t want to write about it. Unless there were any insomniacs in Afghanistan—telling them about his day would solve that particular condition right away.

After chewing on his biro until it broke, covering his lips and chin with ink, Bailey replaced it, resolving to try harder. He’d tell his pen pal the bare essentials about himself, then ask lots of questions about them and their work. That was bound to rustle up some conversation.

That decided, he began to write, absentmindedly swiping at his inky skin with a tissue. He’d have to scrub it off when he was done with the note. His wrist and hand had begun to ache before he was halfway down the page. He rolled his eyes. He sat on his arse at a desk all day, using a computer. As a result, even writing something short by hand was hard work! There was no way he was going to divulge that particular piece of information to someone that was willing to lay down their life to protect their country.

He just about managed to fill a single side of the A5-sized paper. And that was only because he’d formed large letters and spaced his words and lines out plenty. But he tried not to worry—at least he’d finished it, his first letter to a war zone.

He read through it carefully, relieved to find no mistakes. He’d forgotten how much more difficult—and messy—errors were on the written page. Computers let you edit and rewrite to your heart’s content. No correction fluid or crossings-out necessary.

Finally, he addressed the envelope. It felt like the longest address ever. The area and country was bad enough, even without including the soldier’s name and BFPO address. But it was done—Bailey Hodgkiss had penned a missive to Corporal Nick Rock, currently stationed at Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Now he’d just have to post it and wait for a reply. The website had said his missive would take between one and three weeks to reach Corporal Rock. Then he had to allow for time for him to read it and send a reply. It could be around six weeks before he heard anything. If he heard anything at all.

*****

Author Bio:

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100 publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women's Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

Monday Mojo - Sex at Work

15% of adults have had sexual intercourse at work.

But what if you work at home?

Does it count twice?

Wait, wait,wait...

what if you're a lumberjack?

Alrighty then...

Check out a sweet little excerpt from my good friend, Liz Crowe.
It goes along perfectly with today's theme. 
Sex at Work

Romance and Rakes in Tartan with Suz deMello

What’s a romance? You may think you know, but…

The standard definition of a romance has been undergoing some change lately, but the definition of romance has always been changing.

Right now, most of us see a romance as a love story between a man and a woman that contains a happy ending, with the heroine going off with Mr. Right. But that wasn’t always the case.

Centuries ago, people married for reasons other than love. They married for money, status or property, and love was something found outside marriage. The most famous romance in our literature, Romeo and Juliet, doesn’t have a happy ending, unless your idea of a good HEA is uniting in heaven.

Other forms of art reflected the belief that love was found outside marriage. Medieval troubadours traveled from castle to castle and sang about the joys of courtly love and romantic love. Art often depicted the clash between marriage and love, such as Tintoretto’s Venus and Mars Surprised by Vulcan (1545).

When did romance change, and why?

Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) by Samuel Richardson, is often mentioned as the first romance novel. The main point, however, was not that the title character had found love but that her persistent rejections of the so-called hero’s attentions finally got her the prize: marriage.

A less moralistic novel, and one that’s often cited as the best of the genre, is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813). Despite its somewhat archaic style, it’s one of the most popular novels in English Literature, and for very good reasons. It doesn’t preach the way Pamela does, but instead reflects the real concerns young women had during the Regency: marrying well and marrying for love, or at least respect. Although arranged marriages for the purpose of uniting property or increasing wealth were still a custom in our culture, the desirability of gaining a life with a partner founded on love rather than money was taking hold, and is reflected in the literature of the time.

Each era has produced literature that’s reflective of the time, and romance novels reflect their eras, too. As the love ideal took hold, more romances were written that reflect the joy of love rather than its discouraging end, and cautionary tales took back seat to entertainment.

As time went on, and as mores altered, romances became steadily more erotic. The Flame and the Flower (1972) by Kathleen Woodiwiss is viewed as the first modern romance novel, even though it’s a sequel to Petals on the River. Both are quite racy compared to, say, Austen, and reflect changed attitudes regarding sex before marriage.

Our century

Perhaps the greatest changes have occurred in the last few years. First came chick lit, in which the heroine’s goal is not finding Mr. Right but hooking up with Mr. Right Now. Then writers of digital romance broke the hetero barrier and started writing LGBT romance, which doesn’t require the love story to be between a man and a woman. I’m reliably informed that the biggest consumers of M/M romance aren’t gay guys but hetero females. Go figure!

Rakes in Tartan

Set in 1816, my book reflects the mores and customs of the Regency. Heirs to their clans’ lairdships, Andrew MacReiver and Tor Kilburn must find suitable brides. As did many noblemen of the time, they journeyed to London for the social season after attending Oxford. They hoped to find love, but not a Nordic fairy, a dragon and a vampire assassin.

But, being a book written in the 21^st century rather than the 19^th, Rakes in Tartan ends happily.

Here’s what some reviewers have said about the previous books in the Highland Vampires series--These are customer reviews from Amazon.

5 stars... A new author to add to my list of favorite authors June 20, 2012

By jmaze

Temptation in Tartan is the first book I've read by Suz deMello. It won't be the last. The book is well written, easy to follow and easy to read… I would highly recommend the book and I hope that she plans another book to follow in this one’s stead.

 Desire in Tartan:

Five stars..."Engrossing... I was grabbed from the start of the book..." 
                                                                                --S.J. Foulkes (Amazon.com)

Five stars... "Super Read!!!... I enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. I couldn't put it down and read it in one day."    --Becca (Amazon.com)

Five stars..."Such a wonderful read!!!... Such a wonderful book... Love this series!" 
                                                                             --Kimberly Jaksina (Amazon.com)

                                                             

Setting: London 1816

The social season promises both sex and danger for Torquil Kilburn and Andrew

MacReiver, Highland heirs arrived in London to seek brides. The Scotsmen must              

negotiate the complicated morés of high society to woo and win an exquisite

debutante and her passionate, unconventional mother while keeping their vampire heritage a secret.

But evil stalks the ballroom at Almack’s, the streets of Piccadilly, the drawing rooms of the ton. Headless bodies have been found drained of their blood, for another vampire haunts the streets of London, murdering noblemen. As he draws ever closer, Tor and Andrew must fight not only for love, but for their lives.

 ******************************************

Buy it HERE:

About the author:

Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s worked for Total-E-Bound, Liquid Silver Books and Ai Press, where she is currently Managing Editor. She also takes private clients.

Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.

A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.

--Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com

--For editing services, email her at suzswift@yahoo.com

--Befriend her on Facebook and visit hergroup page

--She tweets her reading picks @ReadThis4fun and @Suzdemello

--Pinterest

--Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads

--Her current blog is http://www.fearlessfastpacedfiction.com

Fitness Friday - Pump Up the V

Walking, running, doing yoga or working out while listening to music is a great way to get into a groove. Don't feel like you have to download Lady Gaga because her tunes are supposed to pump you up—go with any music that you find uplifting.

CLICK HERE to see a list of work out tunes compiled by Women's Health Magazine.


Numerous studies and experiments have found that music not only increases a person’s motivation during a workout, but also helps to enhance strength, endurance, and motor coordination. On days where you’re just not feeling it, the right tunes can help carry you to the finish line with their ability to distract you from fatigue while simultaneously charging your heart and other muscles. 

An Ohio State University study found that those who listened to music while walking did four more miles on average than subjects going tune-free. The distraction music provides allows people to focus on things other than the arduous physical task they’re performing. In London, an annual half-marathon called “Race to the Beat” takes this message to heart by playing invigorating music throughout the route to motivate runners to go the distance.

It’s undeniable that the benefits of music are powerful, but are some types of songs more advantageous than others when it comes to working out? Movie star Hugh Jackman thinks so, and he credits the music of Metallica and Godsmack for helping him to pack on muscle for his Wolverine character in X-Men. On contactmusic.com, Jackman admits he cranks up his favorite heavy metal tunes to give him that extra adrenaline rush for a “bitch of a workout.”

Okay...who wants to be Hugh's workout partner?
I'd like to see a raise of hands please.

Thirsty Thursday - Porch Crawler

Spring is the time for yard work. Spending time outside works up a thirst. When it's time to sit on your porch to admire a day's worth of chores, try this tasty punch-like adult beverage.

PORCH CRAWLER

Ingredients

·         5 cherries, pitted

·         1 cherry, for garnish

·         3 leaves mint

·         1 sprig(s) mint, for garnish

·         1 hot chile, such as serrano, halved and seeded

·         Ice

·         2 ounce(s) white rum

·         1 ounce(s) fresh lemon juice

·         1 ounce(s) Basic Simple Syrup

·         2 ounce(s) chilled club soda

---

Basic Simple Syrup Directions

Simple syrup is used to make lemonade, various cocktails and for other liquids that need sweetening.

1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the 5 pitted cherries, mint leaves, and chile. Add ice and the rum, lemon juice, and simple syrup; shake well. Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass, stir in the club soda, and garnish with a cherry and a mint sprig.

Ingredients

·         1 cup(s) sugar

·         1 cup(s) water

---

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil; simmer until the sugar is dissolved, 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

---

Tips & Techniques

Make Ahead: The syrup can be refrigerated in a glass jar for up to 1 month.

HumpDay Hottie

I need some coffee to get  me going in the morning. How about you?