Is it Saturday already?

Usually I'm not so good in the mornings...

So please bear with me here.  I have a question to ask all my friends...it's important, so listen up.  You could win a free book.  Since the end of year holiday season is already upon us, I want to know what YOUR favorite holiday is.  Leave a comment telling what it is, then send me an e-mail explaining.  If I like your explanation, I will toss your name into the hat for a copy of Nothing but Sex.  If I don't?  Well, I'll still toss you into the hat, but I'll fold your entry up into a tiny scrap of paper so you won't be as easy to find.  LOL!

Seriously, I am totally into the holidays.  Not because of all the hype and the commercial junk...but because of the depth of meaning most of them carry for me.   I want to know what your favorite holiday is, and I would love to hear about your family or personal traditions.

If you want to leave the full explanation here to share with everyone, great...just send me an e-mail telling me you entered on the blog.  fran.lee.romance@gmail.com

The contest will run until next Saturday...then I will let you all know the winner.

Hugs!

Fran Lee

http://www.franleeromance.com

Doing The Happy Dance!!

Isn't this beautiful!!!???
Once again, Resplendence Publishing has blessed me with a cover that far surpasses what I'd pictured in my mind while filling out the cover art request form! I have no idea how they do it, but I love 'em for it!!!

Sensations releases on November 9th.

Blurb:

Vivian Walcourt is completely out of her conservative, sheltered element when she finds herself at an ultra-exclusive adult club. Her free spirited best friend may think she’s in love with one of the owners, but Vivian doesn’t believe in whirlwind courtships.

Paul Landis never imagined the woman who has haunted his dreams for years would walk into his club with his partner’s fiancé. More beautiful than ever, unattached, and worked into a heightened state of horny by the evening’s entertainment, he sweeps her away to experience the very special pleasures found behind the closed doors of Sensations.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Tessie

www.tessiebradford.com

Celebrating a finished WIP

(I posted this video just because its such an interesting scene. It’s perfect for the Halloween season and I love the soundtrack to Frances Ford Coppola’s, Dracula.)

October’s been a busy month and I can’t believe how fast it’s flying by.

Monday night I finished writing a 90-page romance that I started working on the first week of September with the intention of writing a 24 page Quickie…

The plan changed as I wrote, the characters immediately took me in some surprising directions. From one day to the next I had no idea where they would take me. I just had to have faith they would lead the way, and type. The story quickly morphed into something that really surprised me. It’s a little different from the content I usually write. It’s more sensual romance than erotic romance. I didn’t do that by design the character’s time period and personal ethics demanded realistic behavior.

I enjoyed writing this way and I wanted to challenge myself. There’s a contemporary romance with an affair from the past embedded within it and a switch between first and third person POV. This story has ancestor ghosts, a strong sense of fate and a journey of souls across seventy years of history to the present. Its actually two romances in one with a happy ending for the contemporary couple.

I know this is self-serving to say, but I blubbered as I wrote this story because bits and pieces of it felt so real.  Having this set of characters speak to me and share personal things, felt like a privilege. Finishing the story and pulling away from the creation phase was a bit sad. My mind is scattered today. I’m really hoping this type of character connection happens again.

Aside from all my WIPs that need to be finished, I have a new project to jump into and I know it will be fun. Its something I’ve wanted to try for a long time—co-authoring. The lovely Amber Skyze and I are going to collaborate on a set of short stories. She came up with an idea I loved and several big synchronicities quickly followed that pointed the way for me to say, “Yes” to this project in a big way. I’m looking forward to clearing the decks and making way for this collaboration. Amber is a good influence on me, not only does she have great ideas, I’m also hoping her speed and excellent work ethic rubs off on me! (I’m so slow…lol)

XXOO Kat

Got toys? November 1 is your day!

Am I Becoming a Cougar? Nah....

Mmmmm..well....maybe....

I have discovered a marked preference for younger men...probably because the men my age are all too doddering and elderly to even know what to do with a female. LOL!  And younger men seem to find me...like I am a younger-guy-magnet or something.  Now, don't get me wrong...I certainly don't mind having younger men drooling after me.  I just wish these younger men were not all on Facebook, and all of them weren't looking for a hot romance author thinking she is some sort of love goddess or somethin'...

Sheesh!  Tonight I had a 27 year old from Nairobi asking me if he come see me when he visits the US later this year. NO!  NOT!  No frickin' way, kid...I can handle a guy maybe 20 years my junior...but one less than half my age is just out of the question.  BTW...what was the question? I tend to ramble.  Oh! Yeah!  Younger men.

I even changed my Facebook photo from the one I had taken at age 19 (because I figured I'd had about enough of these babes-in-arms asking if I was married and if I was lookin')...and I put on one that I took that night, making faces into my mirror for just the right expression.  No makeup.  Hair stick straight.  Bifocals firmly plastered over my face.  But did that deter the little snips?

No.  They seemed to like me older than younger.  No accounting for taste, I suppose.  I have to give them credit...they have guts to start schmoozing up to a woman old enough to be their mom...or their grandmom. Anyway, after totally discouraging the great majority of them, I just stopped bothering to answer them, and started deleting them from my friends list on Facebook.  Figured that would stop the little buggers.

Nope.  At a recent romance convention, I found myself once again having to dodge, bob, and weave.  And this guy was up close and personal. LOL!  Of course, I just let him play and then told him to go jump in a lake. The more I think back, I should've dragged the littler bugger upstairs for a go-round, but I didn't.  I am a lady, after all. Not a tart. (I heard that...)

Anyway, despite my timidity and aversion to getting involved with guys half my age, I finally decided...what the heck?  Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.  I found that I will certainly never knock it again. 

Anyway, I still don't think I have achieved full cougar status. But I'm workin' on it. 

Oh...you have no idea what a cougar is?  Well, read my book, Nothing but Sex.  That ought to explain it.

You have a wonderful day!

Hugs!

Fran Lee

http://www.franleeromance.com

I Don't Always Hate To Shop

Went shopping last night with my daughter. First we went to Toys R Us. My granddaughter turns 3 the end of this month, and is the only wee one on our Christmas list. I refuse to enter a toy store after mid-October, so we were shopping for both occasions.

The moment we walked through the door, my 22 year old WAS a 3 year old!! She squealed, had to pick up and touch everything that caught her eye, and when I disagreed with a selection, she whined! In her excitement, she knocked things off at least three shelves and she begged for her own set of Squinkies and Barbie hair extensions. By the time we got to the checkout we were laughing hysterically.

We left there and walked down to Halloween USA to get a new decoration for our front door. When we walked in, I immediately picked up a creepy hanging skeleton, then I scurried over to the various severed body parts. She disagreed with my selection, and I whined! We moved on to the makeup section and I wanted to buy new bloody slash prosthetics and she reminded me that my co-workers forbade me to gross them out at this year's Halloween Luncheon, and I whined!! We were again laughing so hard by the time we got to the checkout that people were staring.

We had a riot!!

Have a great weekend everyone~

Tessie

www.tessiebradford.com

Would Shakespeare by any other name smell as sweet?

It’s autumn and that means your local movie theater is shoveling Oscar bait into the churning waters of entertainment to see who bites.

The Oscar race officially gets down and dirty Christmas day with each major studio releasing some sort of somber prestige film to bring us down on what should be a joyful day. Several years ago we had five—count them five Nazi-Holocaust themed films to choose from on Christmas day at our local multiplex. I’m not making a political statement here but maybe that’s too many Nazis in our Christmas stockings? Spreading the serious movies out a little during the year is probably a better idea.

Take a deep breath. This year we get Shakespeare. This autumn several major studios are testing the waters a wee bit early with tried and true Oscar bait—Shakespearian material played by respected actors. I’m fully on board with this idea and two new movies slated to open soon look very interesting.

The first movie is a modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s political tragedy “Coriolanus” directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, due for limited release December 2. A bearded and beefy Gerard Butler also stars as Fiennes’ nemesis Tullus (now do I have your attention?)

The movie was filmed on location in Serbia and Fiennes has reportedly stayed true to Shakespearian language and storylines yet successfully transformed a tale of ancient Rome into a present day military tragedy.  As you’ll see in the movie trailer, Fiennes looks a lot like Voldemort with a nose but he’s so intelligent and talented I’m going to overlook that shortcoming.

In case you’re interested in this kind of stuff, and I always am, the trailer music is by Groove Addicts-the Beast at the Door.

 The second movie is “Anonymous” which puts forth the perennial theory that William Shakespeare was a fraud and didn’t author any of “Shakespeare’s” plays or sonnets.

This time the new suspect is the 17^th Earl of Oxford. The Earl is dragged into the spotlight as the true author of the world’s most famous plays. A soulful eyed Rhys Ifans plays the part of the mature Earl of Oxford and gorgeous Jamie Campbell Bower plays the dashing, young Earl. Gifted Shakespearian actor and professional Shakespeare-basher Sir Derek Jacobi provides the prologue.

“Anonymous” looks like a big, rich historical dessert fashioned along the lines of “Amadeus”. The cast, costumes and setting are stunning. If you go to the website the original movie soundtrack is one of the most pleasing I’ve heard in a long while (the haunting music in the movie trailer is performed by Radiohead-“Everything in its Place”.)

“Anonymous” is due in theaters October 28^th and I can’t wait to see it. Regardless of where you stand on the authorship of Shakespeare’s plays there’s certainly something here to spark your interest or encourage debate. This movie looks like a great adult day out with a long discussion afterward over a cup of coffee or a beer.

Vanessa Redgrave stars in both films. She must be the new Shakespearian go-to-girl. 

This is the link to the “Anonymous” website its full of interesting and very interactive stuff:

http://www.anonymous-movie.com/site/

XXOO Kat

PS. I hope you caught a glimpse of  last night's big, beautiful harvest moon.