Happy Spring

I love Spring. It's a time for new beginnings. I know most think of the New Year as a new beginning, but not me. I love when the trees and flowers start to blossom with color. To me it's like a rebirth.
We've been feeling the warm temps here in New England and I'm thrilled. They're saying we might hit record breaking temps on Thursday - 85! Makes me want to open my pool! LOL

I'm working on so many different projects right now it would make your head spin. I'm hoping to have some exciting news over the next few weeks so stay tuned.

I know I've been bad about blogging. I come up with these great ideas of what to blog about and then I get side-tracked and they never get written. Know that I'm thinking of you all and silently cheering your triumphs.

Happy Tuesday!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Are you wearin' the green?

I love the "non-holiday" holidays, like Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day.  Nobody gets the day off (unless you live in Boston and are walking in the parade), but there's so much fun to be had!  We got through Valentine's Day with a chocolate hangover, and now we must get through St. Paddy's Day with a green beer hangover.  Of course, I won't be worrying about that.  I will leave that for all the would-be Irish who love to lift a Guinness (or ten) or to tipple a wee bit o' Jameson's, Powers' or Connemara.  And of course, it must be tinted green...sort of like the color of your face the next morning.

But does anyone really know the origins of St. Patrick's Day, and does anyone really care?

Well, you are about to get the low-down, so prepare.  Lá Fhéile Pádraig (The Festival of Patrick) is a celebration of the feast of St. Patrick, who is the best known of the Celtic saints as told in stories and legends of Ireland.  St. Patrick is, of course, the most revered patron saint of Ireland.  Patrick was born in Roman Britain, and lived from 387 to 461 AD.  He was born to a wealthy Christian family, but at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain. Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a priest.

In 432, he again said that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop, to convert the Irish from their polytheism. Irish folklore tells that one of his teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of evangelism, he died on 17 March 461, and according to tradition, was buried at Downpatrick. Although there were other more successful missions to Ireland from Rome, Patrick endured as the principal champion of Irish Christianity.

Okay...got all that?  So what started in the seventeenth century as a Christian holiday in commemoration of his death has become one of the biggest celebrations of "all this is Irish"...and everyone is invited to join the fun, whether ye've a drop o' Irish blood or no'.

Now, I have more than one drop of Irish blood in me...probably at least 10% of me is Irish.  Enough to qualify as a full-fledged member of the Irish contingent.  But I don't drink green beer.  Or brown beer.  Or any other color of beer.  And I only need to sniff the cork of a fine bottle of Irish Whiskey to topple off the damn bar stool and drool all over the floor.  But I still love wearing green crystal beads and pinching the assess of fine males who neglect to wear anything green.


I hate corned beef and cabbage with a passion, and won't touch green mashed potatoes...but I love making Irish pot roast with leeks and I love watching everyone else enjoy the day.


So what do you do to celebrate the day?  Come on...share...


Fran Lee
http://www.franleeromance.com

photo and info credits go to our favorite online encyclopedia...Wikipedia!

Tessie Bradford is "Getting Down To Business"

It’s time for “Getting Down To Business”!

Guess what’s new today? Tessie Bradford and Resplendence Publishing are offering another sparkling Gem—“Getting Down To Business”!

I’ve read this sweet little short and I loved it. If you’ve ever fantasized about what it would be like to have that dreamy guy from work drive you home and keep you for the night, this Gem is for you!

Blurb:

Mariel doesn’t take risks. Even though her promotion now has her on equal footing with Tadd, the star of her fantasies, a failed office romance has “disaster” written all over it; personally and professionally. Having him as a buddy during the day and an insatiable lover in the safety of her dreams at night, is definitely the way to go.

On a snowy, icy, Friday night, car problems and a tiny bit of intervention from Mari’s best friend provide Tadd with the opportunity he’s been waiting six long months for. He and Mariel will finally get down to business.

Want a little more? Here’s an except:

“Dating could mess up our friendship and our careers, Tadd.”

“That’s not going to happen, Mari. We’ve already got something real special going on, and it’s way past time for us to see what the future holds.”

There was no warning before the left front tire got snagged in a pot hole, sending the SUV careening sideways. “Hold on, sweetheart,” Tadd warned as he navigated what he suspected wasn’t going to be their only three-sixty spin. There was no hope to gain traction under these conditions. His only option was to maintain as much of a controlled slide as possible. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her brace her hands on the dashboard, but she didn’t cry out or visibly panic.

Carefully adjusting the steering wheel to stay with the spin and allowing the antilock brakes to do their job, Tadd finally brought the SUV to a stop about ten feet off the edge of the road. Amazingly, they only grazed one of the many trees with the back bumper.

“That was entertaining,” Mari whispered.

Tadd unhooked his seatbelt and reached over to ease Mari’s hands off the dash. Her fingers wrapped tightly around his, and he felt her tremble. He leaned forward and brushed her lips with his, intending the kiss to be one of comfort, but the moment their mouths touched, he was lost.

Tadd let go of her hands and gathered her as close as possible in the awkward space. She wrapped her arms around his waist. He cradled the back of her head, tasting and teasing her lips before coaxing them open and deepening the kiss. His cock flared to life at the first stroke of her tongue along his. She whimpered then proceeded to return the kiss with such enthusiasm Tadd was sure he’d died and gone straight to heaven. This was the Mariel he’d been dreaming of for years; hot, horny and all his.

“Hell, yes,” he exclaimed when he reluctantly ended the kiss so they could get some much needed air. “God, you’re incredible, Mari. I’m going to make love to you until we both can’t stand up straight.”

Mari struggled to get her racing heartbeat under control as desire pulsed through her like wildfire. She’d never been so turned on in her entire life. “I’m game for hopping over into the seat,” she suggested, kissing across his cheek to his chin. Tadd’s deep, sexy laugh reverberated all the way to her clit.

“I promise we’ll have car sex in the spring, sweetheart.” He captured her mouth in another searing, albeit brief, kiss. “But the first order of business is us getting out of this storm. How far of a walk do we have?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s not short. Mine’s the third driveway up there, and my house is way back off the road.”

“Well, the faster we get moving, the sooner we can get down to some serious loving.”

(“Serious loving” with Tadd? Yes, please!)

Tessie Bradford’s “Getting Down To Business” is available Wednesday, March 14^th from Resplendence Publishing. http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/1.html

Hey that’s now, we can go get it!

XXOO Kat

As you read this, I am in Napa...tasting, nibbling, eating, smiling.

I love to drink. Wine. Gin. Good wine! Great gin. Wonderful prosecco.

I could go on.

But yes, today as you read this, hubbie and I have waved goodbye to the kids (think Adults) and we are on our own, tasting, nibbling.

We have a plan for today. The Mumm vineyard, tasting room and gift shop. Here, we are drinking (I hope) their rose, which I adore and cannot buy in Texas, darn it! Also, I am buying goodies from their wonderful shop as giveaways for this year to a few readers.

Mondavi's oak barrels! My pix from last year!

We'll also do the Mondavi vineyard and their tasting room for Club members. Sounds ritzy, I know. But it is very good and affordable, especially if you love great wine. At Mondavi, like the other vineyards here in Napa, to join their club means you not only get regular shipments of their wines year round at a discount, but also when you come to Napa you have the wonderful opportunity to come to their club rooms, sit, drink their very best wines and nibble marvelous h'ors.

I sound like a commercial?

I know. I know. But for those of you who have read my blogs before, you know I am a hopelessly addicted cook. And hubbie, bless his soul, loves to pair the best wines with my goodies.

So here we are!

Can you see us? Narrow your eyes.  There you go!

We're drinking to your health!

Releasing March 14th!!!!!

Coming March 14, 2012  www.resplendencepublishing.com

I'm going to be out of town on business next week. I want to thank our wonderful Kat in advance as she is going to post for me on release day!!

Tessie

www.tessiebradford.com

March Marches On!

March feels like a fantastic fresh start.

This week was a whooper-load of work, but it went well. I got another Quickie WIP finished and it should be in my editor’s in-box tomorrow, Friday at the latest. When this WIP goes out the door I have another 62k book to edit, proof and submit. I can’t wait to work on that one.

2012 is the year a large backlog of my erotic-romance WIPs are finally being finished and going into the world, and it feels great!

Next week I’m going to post a teaser treat of Tessie Bradford’s newest book “Getting Down To Business” from Resplendence Press. You don’t want to miss that!

Have a wonderful week.

XXOO Kat

Will the Real Amber Skyze Please Stand Up!

When is it a smart move to add another pen name?

This question came up for me with the completion of my latest wip a paranormal romance. It’s something outside my norm and I don’t want to confuse readers – all five of them. LOL

My readers are used to getting contemporary romance. When I posed this question to my editor there was mixed answers. One that struck me was readers will forgive genre jumping.  The biggest concern for the publisher is they want me to have a website and possibly a blog for this new persona. So the big question is do I have enough time to invest in another alter ego?

I’ve considered changing my name on my m/m, because I feel that should be separate from my m/f books.

What is your take on this subject? As a reader would you be okay with an author switching genres? Would you continue to read the author?

I guess I have a lot to think about while I wait to hear if the story will even be contracted.  

In other news I'm not sure if I shared this here. (If so I apologize) - I Wanna Sext U Up received a 4 star review from The Romance Review! YAY. You can read it here: http://erotic.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=4798