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Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Jaded Stone by Kelly Walker (YA Fantasy): Giveaway + Twitter Party!



In Cornerstone, Valencia Roth died to protect her daughter. In Jaded Stone, she'll live for her.

Twenty years before the events of Cornerstone, Valencia Roth is the Crown Princess of Sheas, as lonely as she is privileged. She wants for nothing, except a clear path toward peace for her land. She’s always known personal happiness might not be in The Three’s plan for her. As the future ruler of Sheas, and a Cornerstone, her life belongs to her people.

But when Valencia meets the charming Reid Hendel, she dares to believe love could be within her reach. That is, if they can both survive long enough for it to blossom. A new threat prowls the land, and she’s their primary target. Armed with stubborn pride and all the resources of Sheas, she fears nothing—until her brother leads her intended directly into the fray and at least one of them doesn’t return.

Burdened with grief, Valencia must carve her own path forward. From the forge of chaos, a new era will be born.


Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway


About Kelly Walker

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Kelly Walker is a YA and NA author of several romantic titles, including the Souls of the Stones series. She has an unhealthy appreciation for chocolate, and a soft spot for rescued animals. Her best lessons on writing came from a lifetime of reading. She loves the fantastical, and the magical, and believes a captivating romance can be the most realistic magic of all. Kelly, her husband and her two children share their Virginia home with three dogs who walk her, and two cats who permit her to occasionally share their couch.


Saturday, November 16, 2013

Twilight Series Book Haul: The Unboxing

Dropping by for the Holiday Party Book Giveaway Tour? See this post to enter to win Ella Dominguez's This Love's Not For Sale through Nov. 20th.


Now, I have a confession to make: until yesterday, I didn't own any of the novels in the Twilight series. The only Twilight books I ever bought were the first volume of the graphic novel (which I gave away) and The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. Well, I do have a Twilight (the first novel) audiobook, but we won't count that. When I read the Twilight saga, I either borrowed the books from my mom or from the library. I owned all the movies, but not the books - is that a little sad?

Then I saw this in an e-mail from Better World Books.


BWB knows my weakness - I love to buy discounted books. This was an offer I couldn't refuse.


I think this is the first time BWB's actually shipped me the books in a cardboard box. Usually they come wrapped in green plastic. See, for example, my book unwrapping from last June. What does the box say? It says I'm giving myself a 2-weeks-early Hanukkah present.


These are used books, super cheap (not library sale cheap, but close enough), so I don't really mind that the Eclipse dust jacket is a little torn and the corner looks like a werewolf chewed off the top corner.


I am now the proud owner of all four Twilight novels. (I still have to get The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.)

I mentioned it the other day in the popular Pinterest pins post, but I''ll repeat it: Andrea at Reading Lark is currently re-reading the Twilight Saga:

Her Twilight review

Her New Moon review

Friday, November 15, 2013

This Love's Not For Sale ~ Ella Dominguez: Excerpt + Giveaway




This Love's Not for Sale by Ella Dominguez

Description:

Written for mature audiences and contains kinky graphic sexual encounters, profanity, bondage and discipline, loads of steamy verbosity, and an alpha male that'll make you quiver, laugh and swoon.

Erotic, touching and humorous.

Tucker: Arrogant, brutally honest, and fond of bondage and discipline.

Lilliana: Stubborn, opinionated, and impatient.

When the real estate mogul who is used to getting his way in all things meets the 30-something year old dental hygienist who has inherited a large tract of land, their chemistry and physical attraction to one another is undeniable. Realizing that Lilliana is sitting on a real estate goldmine, Tucker sets his sights on trying to obtain her acreage at any cost - even if it means deceiving her and buying his way into her heart. But Lilliana has no interest in falling in love or being pursued by a certain attractive yet arrogant alpha male interested in her property, and she can't be bought.

Just when things are heating up and Tucker starts to fall for Lilliana, she discovers where his true motivations lie, forcing her to seek sweet revenge the only way she knows how - by giving in to his every fantasy and toying with his emotions.

Excerpt:

“Hang up the phone, pet.”


Lilliana hadn’t even heard Tucker sneak up.  Lilliana’s hands trembled from embarrassment and anger, and she just wanted to end the call and hide. When she didn’t
immediately comply with Tucker’s order, he gently took the phone from her hand and hit the end button. When she turned to face him, she felt relieved Tucker had taken the initiative to cut Adam off. Tucker powered the phone down and casually laid it back on the counter.

“I want all of your attention and your ass back in my bed now,” he said with quiet
emphasis.

Lilliana nodded fervently and moved quickly, but not fast enough. Tucker’s hand caught her bare cheek with a harsh slap making her yelp and jump. She ran to his bedroom and sat waiting for him on her knees on the bed.  Anxious energy was coursing through her veins. When Tucker came into the bedroom, he smiled at her, his eyes dancing with lust and filling Lilliana with a kind of longing she had never felt before.

“Stunning,” he spoke in a broken whisper, his voice echoing her own sentiments about him.

Tucker held his hand out and helped Lilliana lay back on the bed. When he slid in next to her, he pulled her onto his chest.

Tucker’s voice was calm and steady, and exactly what Lilliana needed after the distressing conversation with Adam. “Are you okay?”

Tucker must’ve heard what was going on and Lilliana suddenly felt reserved. She didn’t particularly enjoy talking about Adam and her past marriage woes.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Do you still have feelings for him?”

Lilliana leaned her head back and gazed into Tucker’s eyes and shook her head, trying to reassure him. “Oh, I have feelings for him alright, just not the sentimental kind and there sure as hell isn’t any love lost for him.”

Tucker lifted one side of his mouth in a crooked smile, but raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief.  “Then why are you still in contact with him?”

“I’m not in contact with him; he’s in contact with me.”

 “Why haven’t you put a stop to that?” Tucker asked, pushing her off his chest and lying next to her.

“I’ve tried. I’ve even gone as far as changing my phone number twice, but he’s… relentless.”

Tucker clenched his mouth into a tight line and some indefinable emotion flickered in his eyes. “Perhaps someone should have a talk with him about that.”

“And that someone is going to be you? That’ll go over well. The last thing you need is any more damage to your pristine smile.”

Tucker’s lips twitched with the need to smile.

“What makes you think it would come to that? Why can’t two reasonable, grown men have an adult conversation?”

“It depends on the two men in question. You and Adam, reasonable? Not so much.”

“I can be levelheaded when necessary,” Tucker countered defensively.

“Maybe you can, but Adam doesn’t like being told what to do.”

With a hint of censure in his tone, Tucker responded. “Most men don’t, Lilly. That’s where the power of persuasion comes into play and as you know, I can be very convincing, especially when it comes to what belongs to me. Also, my amazing molars would be just fine. His on the other hand – those are the ones you need to worry about.”

Copyright
This Love’s Not for Sale, Ella Dominguez, 2013
 




Enter to Win! 


• 5 copies of This Love's Not for Sale  Kindle or Nook formats + Swag


About the Author:

I'm a full-time mom, wifey, healthcare worker, and wanna be switch. I was born and raised in a sexually repressed, strict Christian household in the bible belt of the USA. This upbringing and repression contributed to my wicked imagination and writing has been my only outlet for my sexual fantasies. Finally at the ripe and sexually primed age of 40, I mustered up enough courage to share my naughty thoughts and put pen to paper. I sincerely hope to find my niche in writing erotica in all forms, be it romance or paranormal. 

I don't consider myself an author. I consider myself an avid reader above all else, and someone who simply writes the stories that the characters in my head tell me to.

Social Links:

Goodreads ● Twitter ● Facebook ● Website

For the during of the Holiday Party Blog Tour, This Love's Not For Sale is only $.99!

Buy Links:

Amazon ● B+N ● All Romance ● Smashwords

Tour Coordinator:

I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews

Please check out the other stops on this tour today:

I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews 
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I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews 
I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews 
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I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews 
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This Holiday Party Blog tour is being run in conjunction with the 
Check out the entire schedule of the 18 Holiday Party Blog Tour stops & participating bloggers HERE.

Join the party and win from a prize pool of over 1,500 books and prizes by these generous authors!

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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Pinterest: My Most Popular Pins

Oh How Pinteresting! Wednesday at The Vintage Apple is no more (not that we blame busy women who aren't writers by professional for not having time to blog - not in any way). It's still fun to have a (semi-) Wordless Wednesday post every now and then, so I thought I'd show off some of my most popular Pinterest pins:

#1: Taraji P. Henson



She's gorgeous. It's no wonder this one's been repinned 107 times.

#2: Sagrada Familia



It's true: on my trip to Spain in 1995, my tour group and I visited La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the last stop on our tour that started in Madrid. It was closed - infamously, the architect Gaudi died before his masterwork was completed, and it's almost constantly under construction - and I never got to see the inside.

A photo I took of the outside of Sagrada Familia in 1995
Now I can see it, vicariously, through Pinterest. So can lots of other people. It's been repinned 98 times.

#3: The Divergent Trilogy



Allegiant only came out on October 22 (barring a few leaked copies), but this image of all three hardcovers in Veronica Roth's Divergent Series has already been repinned 84 times.

I'm not surprised that one of my most popular pins has to do with a book series, but I am surprised that it got repinned so many times so quickly.

#4: Joseph Gordon-Levitt reading



You may have seen this image before on my "Hanukkah Hotness" post about JGL. Lots of people have seen it on Pinterest; it's been repinned 78 times.

#5: Taraji again



This one's been repinned 55 times - to a lot of "hair inspiration" boards.

#6: New Moon movie poster



The movie poster for the second movie in the Twilight series has been repinned 53 times. Incidentally, Andrea at Reading Lark book review blog recently reread and reviewed New Moon. You can read her review of the first novel, Twilight, here.

Reading Lark

#7: Leaf chair



This clever yet practical piece of design has been repinned 50 times.

#8: You guys just can't get enough Taraji P. Henson



Not that I blame you. This sexy black-and-white pose came from Kala's TheDorkMistress Tumblr blog.

#9: George Clooney reads



Repinned 30 times, this pin first made its appearance in this Blue Monday post.

What are your most popular pins? Do any of them really surprise you?

Monday, November 11, 2013

Thoughts on Veterans Day 2013


Veterans Day Images


(I know they're silly, but I absolutely love the retro-style, patriotic pin-ups. See this post for other examples.)

In the U.S., we call November 11th "Veterans Day," and in Canada it's known as "Remembrance Day." For a lovely Remembrance Day post that incorporated Canadian poet John McCrae's immortal World War I poem "In Flanders Field," please visit Mumfection. I'd like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all U.S., Canadian and allied veterans for their service to our way of life.

My husband, Tit Elingtin, is a Navy veteran, and so is my Uncle Lee. So was my grandfather, who was wounded at Pearl Harbor when he was a mere 17 years old. Actually, both of my grandfathers served in the Navy in WWII. My mom's dad once told me his military job was to "sit at a desk and smoke cigarettes," but I'm certain there's much more to the story than that. I believe my mom's dad served in the European theater.

I was thinking about my mom's late father, Marion (known within the family as Blackie because of his black hair and relatively dark complexion; he was of Russian and Polish descent), when Tit and I went to a family wedding on Saturday. My grandfather's older brother Joseph, who's been deceased for many years, has a grandson named Adam, and Adam married a woman named Andrea. Now that Andrea has my grandfather's last name, her married name is the same as my mom's maiden name, since my mom is also named Andrea. (Different middle names, though.)

Andrea and Adam had a photobooth at the their wedding. I added the hearts on PicMonkey.
Appropriately enough, Veterans Day is also the birthday of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. The author was born in Indianapolis in 1922. Sadly, he is no longer with us. Vonnegut was an army veteran who survived the firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by British troops. He turned this horrifying experience into the brilliant novel Slaughterhouse-Five. It remains one of the best war novels ever.

Of course, I also highly recommend reading James Jones' war trilogy. From Here to Eternity tells you what it's like when a war is imminent, The Thin Red Line tells you what it's like to be in the middle of a war, and Whistle tells you about the after-effects. I can't recommend it highly enough.



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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Sssh.com Publishes Exclusive Interview with Carol Queen

Boston, Massachusetts. (November 5th, 2013) – Sssh.com, the Web’s leading erotica site for women, has just released an exclusive interview with Carol Queen. Carol Queen is an American author, editor, sociologist and sexologist active in the sex-positive feminism movement. Queen has written on human sexuality in books such as Real Live Nude Girl: Chronicles of Sex-Positive Culture

Sssh.com publisher Angie Rowntree sat down for the exclusive informal video interview in mid-October with the renowned sexologist at a cafe in Boston. During the one-hour conversation, they discussed a wide variety of sexuality topics ranging from current "sex issues" in society, the increased mainstream censorship of adult materials, the history of the female orgasm (including a lively conversation about "hysteria") and the invention and development of the vibrator, and other topics in a fast paced and entertaining format.

In her own words, Carol Queen tells Sssh.com a bit about her career as a sexologist and activist, saying “I’ve been writing since I was a kid, though have only focused on sex since I became fascinated by sex. I write spanning many genres, almost always to inform or involve as well as to entertain, and when I’m not writing, I teach, talk, and produce events about sex in my capacities as lecturer, staff sexologist at Good Vibrations, and founding director of the Center for Sex & Culture in San Francisco. I’ve authored, edited, or co-edited eleven books, winning awards for PoMoSexuals (a Lammy) and The Leather Daddy and The Femme (a Firecracker Alternative Book Award). I’m about to see a re-release of my first book (from 1995), Exhibitionism for the Shy, and I’m sloooowly working on a memoir. Pretty much all my anthologized work is listed on my home page. I’m also on the board of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, dedicated to the premise that sexual freedom is a fundamental human right, and this year I'm serving as a judge for the Sex-Positive JournalismAwards.” 


I've admired Carol Queen and her advocacy work for years, and was delighted to get a chance to sit down for a chat with her” says Rowntree. “Carol is funny, on-point and has a real grasp of the issues in current sex in society issues from her past 25+ years as a sexologist and outspoken pundit, lecturer and author.” 

The three-part interview is available, free of charge, on sssh.com news and commentary site, EroticScribes.com - http://www.eroticscribes.com/video-interview-sexologist-carol-queen/ 

About Sssh.com: Sssh.com offers an extensive, evolving source of information and entertainment from bold and brassy to tender and traditional. Providing a safe place for women to explore their sexuality, the company continues to grow the website's scope in order to reach a wider audience of women interested in high quality, intelligent erotic content. 

Because no woman is an island, Sssh.com embodies a community where women can relax, enjoy, learn and feel good about being sexual, sensual beings without sacrificing personal ethics. Sssh.com encourages each member to approach her journey at her own pace: Content is arranged by levels, each clearly annotated with its degree of explicitness. After all, women may be curious about what a guy has, but they’re more interested in discovering how he uses it.

Elle.com, one of the largest and most read women’s fashion and editorial websites in the world, listed Sssh.com as “one of the websites to see,” describing the website as the best place for movies and advice, plus “it has a hunky guy photo gallery.”


This is an affiliate link:

All In: 25 Erotic Stories by Emily Cantore. $4.99 from Smashwords.com
25 erotic short stories from the hot and bothered mind of Emily Cantore! To buy individually would cost a bundle! More than 130,000 words of first-time lesbians, threesomes, girls experimenting, sex toys and much more. Guaranteed to warm you up and get your mind racing!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Cover Reveal ~ Bring On the Heat: Erotic Romance Anthology


Title: Bring On the Heat
Genre: Erotic romance
Length: Approx 263k words
Release date: January 6, 2014

Boxed Set:

Eden Bradley: Breaking Skye
Stephanie Julian: An Indecent Proposition Part I
Amber Kallyn: Burned
Keira Kohl: Laundry Day
Adriana Kraft: Cherry Tune-Up
Emma Lai: Riding Rodeo
Anh Leod: Clockwork Captive
Ann Mayburn: First Kiss
Cari Quinn: Jingle Ball