Got an 'Appetite'?

Appetite For Desire:

Blurb: Dustin James is shocked to learn the sexy blonde he met two days earlier is none other than his father’s caterer who also works at the country club he’s recently joined. When he can’t keep his hands off of her, is lust for her sexy body all he wants, or is it love?

Courtney Bright defied the rules by admitting her attraction to the new customer at the country club. But when she realizes her feelings aren’t just sexual, will she take a chance on love, or is her job more important?

Buy link

Excerpt:

“Want to see the upstairs?” Dustin led her to the golden oak staircase, the risers carpeted in the same dark blue as the living room.

She nodded and followed him, poking her head into each of the five bedrooms, all decorated differently.

“There are two full baths on this floor,” Dustin explained as he showed her the master suite. “And two half baths downstairs.”

“Someone finally got smart.” Courtney looked at the glass-walled shower and the whirlpool tub. “Growing up, we only had one full and one half. My brother would often go outside and pee in the bushes if both were full.” She took one more glance and headed for the doorway. “Your friend hasn’t lived here very long, has he?” She lingered by the door.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, look,” she gestured at the walls. “No photographs, no pictures, and everything looks as if it just came out of the showroom.”

Very perceptive. He chuckled. “That’s because this is one of the model houses for the neighborhood.”

Courtney blushed. “Oh. I should have realized…”

“No, no, don’t worry.” He leaned against the door jam. “So what do you think?”

“About the house? It’s lovely.” She looked at him, her eyes dreamy. As he watched, she shook her head. “Thank you for showing it to me.”

“My pleasure.” Dustin put a finger under her chin and brushed her lips with his.

Mistake.

His cock swelled as the memory of their night together flooded his mind. He groaned and pulled her closer.

I'm also over at Sam Crescent's blog. And since I'm in such a good mood, I'm giving away a free copy to one random, lucky commenter:) So stop by!

Awesome News!!!

What a weekend! Found out last Thursday Appetite For Desire was indeed releasing July 6th instead of late September, and my first round edits arrived on Friday. Stayed up until 2am and went to bed when I realized the brain was NOT processing any information, lol!

Saturday, the family rebelled against me and monopolized all computers/internet connections after lunch. So again I edited from 10pm until midnight and sent them off.

Sunday after church, the 2nd round edits arrived. But then my oldest decided to try to figure out why the wifi wasn't working. Three hours later, he admitted defeat and let me have my internet back. Edits were finished in an hour and returned.

Yesterday morning, I received the proof copy. Added my dedication and contact info and sent back. Two hours later, my ARC arrived. I approved and returned it. You can now pre-order it here:)

I jumped on Face Book to rejoice:)

And found an AWESOME review from Coffee and Romance! Here's a snippet, but you can read the entire thing here:)

Michaels interweaves the lives of Angela, Brad and Emma without giving a second thought. Angela is still in love with Steve and hasn't been able to tell Brad about her and Steve's past. The reconnection between Angela and Steve is realistic, heartfelt and genuine while Emma and Brad's developing love interest is paced perfectly for this short novella.

So how was YOUR fourth of July weekend?

A Picture's Worth 1000 Words...

Friend and fellow author Linda Kage interviewed me today! Come on by and say hello!

Welcome to a sample of my hectic life! Here are some pics from Aunt Kenzie's Summer Reading Program and Father's Day. Miss Drama Queen (MDQ) and her brother Mr. Energy are staying with us for the summer, and maybe even during the school year.

Enjoy these kids' expressions, actions, and antics with me:)





Making the Father's Day cake. MDQ insisted Uncle Dad would LOVE strawberry frosting on his two layer devil's food cake! The kids ate most of it, though Uncle Dad did eat a slice or two:)

Buddy, one of my neighborhood 'adoptees' and MDQ making kites. ME opted not to attend this outing, and my youngling was at cub scout camp.

MDQ trying the Japanese snacks at the program on Japan. They were yummy, imho! I don't think she shared that opinion, though:)

Took them to one of our historical sites, and they all enjoyed playing with this cannon!

What Do You Call a Blog Post About Dates?

If we were talking about the boy-meets-girl-type, I'd have a wittier title!

When I was younger, I loved going out to eat and playing mini-golf on a first date, because it enabled us to TALK to each other. You really can't get to know your date while in a movie theater and hoping he'll hold your hand; that's for date #2.

In my 20's, dating consisted of either a party; going to a bar/nightclub; dinner. And since I married while in my 20's, 'date night' with the hubby meant dinner alone and a movie, or a drive.

Now my idea of a perfect date is still dinner and wine, and conversation that does not include the word 'Mommy' or mention of any kids (unless I bring it up first, heh heh!). Take my to BW3 and see if I can beat you at trivia. Or let's go sing karaoke.

Special dates I hold dear? There are many:

Jan 1: New Year's Day and SIL's b-day

Jan 29th: Special ex-b/f's birthday. Suffice it to say I met him while in college, and he's in my Top 3.

Feb 14-28: The span of time in which our tax money arrives.

March 1: Youngling's birthday

March 5: Another special friend's b-day (and the day the youngling was supposed to arrive)

March 17: 1st love's b-day

March 20: Spouse's b-day

March 31: Day I met my soul mate

April 7: Day I met my AF officer

April 10: Day I fell in love with the SOB AF officer

April 17: Day I realized I was pregnant with my oldest

May 2: Nephew's b-day

May 3: Wedding Anniversary (20 years so far) and another friend's b-day

May 12: Day BFF B and I were 'married' in the hallway between classes!

May 22: BFF #3's b-day

May 23: BFF #1's b-day and the day my soul mate broke my heart

June 16: The day I dreamed of getting married

June 19: The day I dreamed of getting married when I realized the 16th wasn't on a Saturday and the fact my fiancee was horrible with remembering dates! Also, another friend's b-day

June 28: Dad's b-day

July 3: Daughter's b-day and BFF #2's b-day

July 29: BFF in HS's b-day

Aug 1: Mom's b-day

Aug 5: AF Officer's b-day

Aug 6: 'Grandkids' b-day (born same day, one year apart!)

Aug 19: Day I had miscarriage and niece's b-day

Sept 20: Day I met my first serious crush

Sept 23: BFF #1's wedding anniversary

Oct 7: Sister's b-day

Oct 9: Nephew's b-day

Nov 20: Niece/stepdaughter's b-day

Dec 8: Oldest son's b-day and another friend's b-day; the one who introduced me to my spouse.

Dec 19: My b-day

Dec 25: Christmas

Dec 31: New Year's Eve

Now, what would YOU have called this post? LOL!

Show Me The Truth....

While I love the pre-Civil War era, and wouldn't mind for one day putting on a hoop skirt and dancing at a party, there is another era which has intrigued me: The Tudor Years.

My first introduction into this era was the book Anne of a Thousand Days. And Philippa Gregory's The Constant Princess shows a different side of the story.

Now maybe some of the facts were fudged, for romance angles, but I rather like the image of the conniving Henry, not the cold, calculating Anne of The Other Bolyne Girl.

So therefore, I would love to be a fly on the wall, or at least a lady-in-waiting, to see first hand what REALLY went on between Henry VIII, Katherine, Anne, and her sister Mary.

Another time I'd like to be the 'fly on the wall' would be at Elizabeth's court, to see what exactly transpired between her and Lord Dudley, and why she had Mary Queen of Scots executed. Was it all Lord Cecil?

I'm only halfway through this book, and can hardly wait to get back to it.

And as always, I would sorely miss my A/C, indoor plumbing, and modern conveniences.

If you could travel safely through time, what era would YOU visit? My hubby rather likes the Star Trek world!

Mid Year Check Up

Did I make any resolutions this year? None are documented; I had limited internet access six months ago. But if I did make any resolutions in my professional life, they would have been the following:

-Submit, submit, submit my work. Check. Class Reunion has been accepted, and Off The Clock sent off for approval. I also sent off Appetite For Desire and it was accepted:) Now, I have nothing left but partial wips. My alter-ego is currently waiting for approval on her 3rd book. I also finally finished an appropriate submission for the 1000 Words anthology. Hopefully Travis found this one acceptable!

-Write, write, write. So-so. I've had a few writing days the last few months, but I need to do more. I don't think I've written anything new in the last month. Of course, it helps when the characters are screaming for attention! Mine are not; I think they all went looking for a less stressed out author.

-Make some money. Check....sort of. I have received two royalty checks this year....and just enough money for about a week's worth of chocolate. I have a love affair going with Hershey's Bliss milk chocolate squares. Shhhh....don't tell my dentist.....

-Be a better mom. I kind of dropped the ball on this one; I have a youngling who isn't reading yet, and a rebellious teenage daughter. Of course, if the spouse hadn't gone off the deep end on Super Bowl Sunday and thrown a fit over her choice of boyfriend....but that's private family issues so I won't bore you with that drama.

-Balance family and writing life. Again, I've sort of dropped the ball. Since I got my laptop, I've discovered I'm addicted to Face Book. And there are several days I did nothing but chat on a couple of loops....again, I refer you to item #2.

So yes, Kenzie has a lot of work to do the remainder of the year! Maybe once edits arrive for both Teacher's Pet and Appetite For Desire?? And maybe Mark and Becca will talk to me again???

Tagging Along....

Most of you are familiar with my alter ego Molly Daniels. Yes, she's the one who set up at local festivals with her print copies, and the awesome display with certain other authors' print books. Lately, I've been tagging along, with my CD's and poster of my latest cover (Teacher's Pet has been out there an awfully long time, and I really hope it's out soon! People are asking for it, so send me edits, damn it! Okay; rant over).

I also have my Sony Pocket e-reader handy, to show people how handy it is to use. Sometimes a friend will let me borrow his Kindle for the same purpose.

But I'll admit, I will not be using my latest official cover in public. Why? It's too damn HAWT! If I show it in a venue with anyone under the age of eighteen, I'm sure I'll be politely asked to take it down, or have customers shooting me evil glances. So I'll advertise it with the PG sample cover provided, but once the book is out, the R rated cover will be on the CD and only shown to the adults.

I've already stated that my status as a 'smut' writer (I prefer Adult Contemporay) has gotten me a few perks: Former classmates talk to me more; I've been given free wine; and the very fact I'm published with an honest-to-god publisher has earned me respect from aspiring writers and new authors.

I've made a few mistakes; I've disclosed too much information too soon to prospective friends, only to find out their ultra-conservativeness; I've accidentally let a tame curse word fly in mixed company (who knew a 'hell no' would bring an admonition? It happened!); and when I posted my wonderful Jimmy Thomas cover on Face Book, a few childhood friends (and my mother) expressed their disapproval. Mom's wasn't so bad; she just shook her head. But one friend went on a rant about eating habits of models. Huh?????

So now I'm more cautious about the content of my books. I've only got one scene which even sort of squicks me out, and I'm very careful when someone I know VERY WELL wants to read that book. I wouldn't want people to be turned off by a particular scene.

And when I'm promoting, I offer both a tame and spicy excerpt. Many times women want the spicy one, and I hope it generates sales, rather than an 'OMG...porn alert' moment.

Just as long as I don't get asked to leave or run out of town by the 'holier-than-thou' types, I'll continue to promote myself in public:)