Happy birthday Paloma!

"Happy biiiiirrrrrthdaaaay toooo youuuuu
Happy biiiiirrrrrthdaaaay toooo youuuuu
Happy biriiirrrrrrthdaaaay dear Palomaaaaaahh
Happy biiiirrrrrrthdaaaay tooooo youuuuuuuuuu!"

Introduction:
Tammy:  Heroine, Teacher's Pet
Kevin:  Hero, Teacher's Pet
Danny:  Tammy's son, age 13
Teri:  Tammy's daughter, age 10

D:  I thought we were getting ready to celebrate my birthday, Mom.

T:  No dear; I'm letting you stay up late so we can celebrate a friend of Kenzie's.

T:  That girl Danny used to drool over?  Yuck!

K:  No, Teri.  The woman who created all of us.

T:  But I thought God was a man-

T:  Kevin means Kenzie wrote our story.  Not the God of the universe.  Paloma is a friend of Kenzie Michaels, and they're both authors....though neither of you can read either of their books until you're older.

T:  Why?  

D:  Because there's love scenes.  (gags)

K:  Here, blow out the candles before they melt on the cake.  Tammy, how is it we're together for a year, and yet we've never celebrated yours, Teri's, or Danny's birthdays, or even mine, for that manner?

T:  Because Danny's is in November, when we were broken up for a brief time; Teri's is in July, after we'd-ah (clears throat)-met for the first time, and mine took place before we-ah (clears throat)-met the 2nd time.  And yours was celebrated over our honeymoon, remember?  And this is a birthday of sorts, because I think Kenzie finished the final edits on our book about this time.

K:  So what excerpt do you propose we post in honor of Paloma's birthday and our one-year publishing birthday?

T:  How about the scene where Danny tries to spend your money?

D:  Shut up, Teri.  How about the scene when Kevin stayed home with us during the snow day and he and I beat you and Mom at Scene It?

T (sticks tongue out at her brother)

T:  Oookay....time to send two kids to bed.  You forget this is Paloma's day, not yours.  Scoot.  I'll be in to tuck you in shortly.

D:  Awww Mom!  It's Saturday!

T:  Actually, it's still Friday night and past your bedtime.  Kenzie's pre-posting this.  Now shoo.

D:  Come on, Teri.  Mom and Kevin are going to make out again.

K:  Tammy, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I think your son's read a few parts of this book.

T:  I'm surprised he's even speaking to us if he has!  Oh well....enough of our drama.  What say you we post a happy scene?  Like our first official date?

K:  Now that's a good idea.  Do I get to pick it?

T:  Nah; you'd go for that 'horny and pressed for time' line.  Here, I'll choose it.  And readers, leave a comment, even if it's just to wish Paloma a happy birthday!  Kevin will draw a winner after midnight on Sunday for a copy of our book, Teacher's Pet.

K:  Or you can buy it here, on amazon.

A few days passed; Tammy tried to put a lid on her mounting frustrations with her libido. Finally, she screwed up her nerve and called Kevin, under the pretense Danny was having trouble with an assignment.

“Even I can’t figure it out,” she stated. “Can you explain it to me?”

“Sure. Which problem is it?”

Tammy hesitated. “We’ve got football practice in thirty minutes. I wondered if I could just drop him at the field and come over for a few minutes.” She squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of his response. She felt horribly exposed, certain he saw through the ploy.

To her surprise, he sounded businesslike and not at all teasing. “Sure, no problem. Bring the book and I’ll be glad to help you.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

She dropped the kids off at the football field and asked one of her friends to keep an eye on them. “I’ve got to make a delivery,” she apologized, feeling guilty for the lie. “I’ll be back before practice is over.”

“Relax, Tam,” the other woman said. “It’ll be fine. Go on.”

Flashing a smile, Tammy strode to her car and went straight to Kevin’s house. She sat a block away, debating with herself.  Taking a firm grip on her courage, she drove to his driveway and walked up to the porch. Her resolve weakened after she knocked on the door. This is stupid. You haven’t acted this way in over fourteen years. What’s he going to think about you showing up at his house and demanding he take you to bed? Is that how a grown woman with two children acts? Grow up, Tammy! Besides, the man should do the pursuing, not the other way around! Oh really…and what about equal rights? Don’t I have the right to demand sex just like men do?

Her internal war vanished when Kevin opened the door and swept her into his arms, closing the door behind them.

“You have driven me crazy for three days. The problem can wait. I’ve been wanting to kiss you ever since Saturday.” His tongue swept across the corners of her mouth, and, with a sigh, Tammy melted against him, answering his hunger with her own.

She tugged at his sweatshirt, wanting to run her hands up his hairy chest and over his rippling muscles. He worked it over his head, looking surprised when she threw off her own sweatshirt and pressed his naked torso to hers. He groaned and lifted her up, carried her to the bedroom, and left a trail of clothing behind.

“What brought this on?”

She peeled his athletic pants to his ankles. “I’m horny and pressed for time. And it’s all your fault.” 

K:  You cut it off just before it got to the good part!

T:  Always leave them wanting more, dear.  Come on; let's make sure the kids are tucked in, and then we'll see who's 'horny and pressed for time'.

Complete List of Paloma's Birthday Bash Bloggers 

Autumn's Harvest Blog Hop:)

Forgive me; with all of the appearances I've made the last two months, it was nice to have a weekend I could sleep in, veg out, and relax.  And apparently I forgot I'd signed up to be a part of this hop!  So if you desire a chance to win the following items, read on!

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains 10+ paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

I'll be giving away either a copy of Teacher's Pet or All She Ever Wanted, since the sequel will be releasing soon:)

Autumn:  The perfect time for a new beginning.  I don't know about you, but the relationships I formed in September always seemed to last the longest.  How about you?

Here's one of my favorite scenes from Teacher's Pet.  Kevin and Tammy go on their first 'official' date.  And where do you go when it's too cold outside and want to get to know each other better?

“You got another strike?” Kevin’s mouth gaped. He watched her slender form bounce toward him, hand held high. He smacked her a high-five and swatted her butt.

Tammy’s cheeks flushed. “It’s all in the wrist.” She reached for her ball as it came out of the chute. She inserted her fingers, rocked it into her left hand, and looked at the pins. Two steps forward and she began her approach, swinging the ball down and flipping it forward, keeping her wrist straight. Unfortunately, it veered to the left, knocking down only four pins. “Damn…I thought maybe I’d do a little better than that.”  The pins reset; her last ball knocked down all but one. “At least it wasn’t the split.” She referred to the seven-ten split, with pins at opposite ends.

“Still, I’ve got some catching up to do.” Kevin concentrated on his own approach and settled for a spare. Several frames later, he was closing the gap in their scores, but Tammy still beat him in the first game by a ten-point margin.

“Not bad, not bad.” Kevin accepted his defeat and offered to buy her a drink.

Tammy took the bottled water he brought and clinked it with his. “Are you up for Round Two?”

“Most definitely,” he said. “I’ve got to get my dignity back.”

Tammy took another sip. “Whoever gets the first strike decides where we go next.”

“You’re on, lady.”

Two frames later, Kevin’s ball found its mark.

“It’s a surprise.” He noticed her questioning look. And you have no idea how much I intend to surprise you! “Next person to get a strike has to kiss the other.”

“You’re on.” Tammy’s aim was true, and devilment sparkled in her eyes. She reached for his hand and kissed it, stepping out of his reach when he complained. “Na ah.” Her tone was playful. “You didn’t specify where to be kissed!”

“Touché.” He chased her around the seats and skidded on the slippery floor, his arms flailing to maintain his balance. “Damn these shoes.”

Tammy giggled and darted back around, but he caught her by the arm and swung her to him. Their feet tangled, and she landed on top of him while clutching the back of a seat. They both howled with laughter, and when Tammy tried to pull herself up, Kevin snaked an arm around her waist and grabbed her chin with the other. His mouth lowered to hers; her lips parted and his tongue slipped inside. His hand drifted toward her breast and she pulled away.

“You said no public sex.” 

All you have to do is leave me a comment, telling me your favorite 1st date place.  I'll pick a winner at random on Tuesday.  Enjoy!

Hump Day Hook:)

Here's a sneak peek at Class Reunion, of which the first round of edits are complete.


Blurb:
After being burned pretty badly by two different women in his past, Brian Vellinger has sworn off romance. Commitment-shy for the past fifteen years, he is stunned by his sudden attraction to a woman he's not seen since the last day of their senior year.

Natalie Collier thinks she's successfully put Brian Vellinger out of her mind. After harboring a secret crush all through high school and into college, she is both alarmed and thrilled when Brian makes his intentions known at their 25th class reunion. But will she succeed in softening his casual, 'sex only' policy, or will she end up just another notch on his belt?

Excerpt:
“Here’s the thing:  We’re both single, in our forties, and established in our jobs.  Just because we’re attracted to each other doesn’t mean there has to be a romantic connection, does there?”

“Gee, Brian, if you put it like that why not just hire an escort for the evening?”  Pushing her hurt feelings aside, she stared at him.  “We’re both caught up in the moment. Let’s just fuck each other and see you again in five years?  Sorry; I don’t operate like that.”

“Look, you live five thousand miles away in Boise, right?  My job is here.  What’s the problem with a mutually satisfying night; we both let off some steam and have great sex? On Monday our lives will return to normal and no one gets hurt.  Unless you’ve got a boyfriend or something and feel guilty.”

“No, no boyfriend.”  Natalie set down her glass and cocked her head to one side.  “What the hell happened to you? Are you afraid of commitment now, just because Tracy left you, and some bitch screwed you over?  When was the last time you actually lived with someone, Brian?”  Natalie kept her voice low, but leaned closer.  “Do you know that when I heard the news of your marriage, I went out and rip roaring drunk?  For years, I waited for you to notice me, and you getting married finally woke me up to the fact you weren’t mine.  Where’s the man who stood on that podium and proclaimed ‘sex without love is a dead-end street’?”

“Yeah, well, I was naïve back then.”

“We all were.”  Find your courage, Natalie.  It’s now or never.  “Yes, I’d like to sleep with you, to spend the rest of the weekend with you.  But only on my terms, Brian.  If this happens tonight, I expect you to be considerate, not just cast me aside when the sun comes up in the morning.”

“God.  You want fucking roses in the morning?  We are so past that.”  He shook his head and reached for his beer.

“I don’t expect flowers. I want to get to know you out of bed too,” she tried to explain and looked him in the eye.  “I don’t want us to have to pretend we’re strangers tomorrow morning.  I know you’ve got a golf match. I’ll do something with the girls while you’re golfing, and meet you at the picnic afterwards.  We can have a quiet dinner and you can take me to the airport Monday morning.  That’s what I expect.  We take it from there.”  She smiled inwardly as she observed his gaze drop from her face to her breasts again.  “Unless you have a girlfriend who couldn’t make it tonight, and I’m just a substitute?”  Natalie took another drink of her wine and tried to check her emotions.  Good Lord; was this the way weekend sex was discussed?  It sounded so…cold.

Brian leaned in again and brushed his lips against hers.  “Where are you staying?  I’ll follow you.”

Check out other authors' snippets here:) 

Happy Hump Day:)

Some friends and I thought it would be fun to post a snippet of a current WIP or released book every Wednesday.  Sound cool?  Here's a paragraph from my Alien-meets-Human story.  Tricia and her friends are enjoying a Girl's Night Out.  Enjoy!

Tricia and Lara, still flirting with several men, were caught up in the Electric Slide.

            Trish smiled to herself.  This was her personal favorite yardstick.  If a man could keep the dance fresh and not mechanical, he rose a notch in her favor.  But soon she became aware of a dark-haired man behind her whose gyrations intrigued her.  She managed to catch his eye and smile; soon she enjoyed moving her body with the various moves and turns.  He seemed to be intrigued with her as well.  During the final stages of the dance, he kept his eyes on her, not turning around, but drawing closer to her as their bodies undulated in invitation.

            “Can I buy you a drink?”  His voice was low and velvety.

For a complete list of participants, click here.  And since Molly's taken over the brain, since NaNo will be upon us next week, I'll only be back on Wednesdays, unless Class Reunion's cover art arrives:)

And The Winner Is......(Drum Roll)

Wow, what an awesome response this past weekend!  Thanks to everyone who entered:)

The answer, of course, is Indiana.  Home of the Indianapolis 500, birthplace of Mama Brady (Florence Henderson) and Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), and the home of William Henry Harrison, the president who delivered the longest inaugural speech (and in the rain!), then died thirty-two days later.

The town I live in has ties to both him and George Rogers Clark:

The Harrison House

GRC Memorial and the battlefield.  The spouse and I 'power walk' every day up the left side of the walkway, up the steps to the Memorial; one lap around; then up the 19 steps to the very top (where the vertical pillars are; when it's open, people can go inside and see the exhibits); then down the rest of the steps and walk back down the right side of the walkway.

Picture of the top of the Memorial.

"This is all very nice, Kenzie, but who won your contest?"

Okay, okay....enough history.  The winner is.......

Tiss!

And I'm giving out another prize, this time to....

Flossie!

She was the first one to mention Wm Henry Harrison:)  So shoot me an email also, and thanks for playing everyone!

And come back in December when we have the '5 Favorite Things' hop, which Dawne is putting together.

Where In The World Am I????

For a list of participating SCP authors, go here.


What State Do I Live In?
Clues:
-Greatest Spectacle In Racing
-Crossroads of America
-Home of President who served shortest time

Winner will receive their choice of my back list.  Click here for my books and here for Molly's.  Good luck!

Answer and winner will be posted on Monday.

Psst: Want The Inside Scoop Of My Next Project?

Molly tagged me in this 'Next Big Thing' interview/MeMe, so here goes:)  Enjoy!

 What is the working title of your book?
Brock and Tricia.  Yeah; that's all I got at the moment.

 Where did the idea come from for the book?
I'm not sure; I'd just read my first erotic novel (okay; I read it about three times!), then decided to try my hand at this new genre.  I locked myself in the bedroom and blushed furiously every time I typed a euphemism not normally in my vocabulary!


 What genre does your book fall under?
Oh, it's definitely Paranormal Romance....with the heat level of Teacher's Pet!


 Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Gerard Butler would be my Brock, and probably Rachel McAdams for Tricia.


 What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Tricia's imaginary friend since childhood turns out to be an alien from another planet.


 Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm hoping my publisher will send me a contract after I finish, polish, and submit it:)


 How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I began it in 2003, and only recently picked it up again.  The ideas are flowing, so hope to have it finished soon:)


 What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I began reading Dawn Chartier's book Not An Angel yesterday, and there are some scary similarities!  Maybe I need to not read her book until I'm finished with mine; I don't want to be accused of plagerism.  Otherwise, just about any author's work who's written alien-smitten-with-human stories.


 Who or What inspired you to write this book?
Again, I'm not sure.  I patterned the scene where she meets him after the last time I went dancing with my friends.  And of course, had to learn to slow down my sex scene to describe everything in graphic detail.


 What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
I really hope my story is a fresh idea on the whole alien-smitten-with-human story!  And there are some Star Trek references in there, since Tricia's trying to wrap her brain around his existence.  They have 5 days to find out if they're meant to be together, or else he goes back to only being with her in dream form.  And what woman would be content with THAT?