Contest for the Confessors
The class I've been teaching the past couple of weeks is having a contest today, and the winners get their choice of the following stories, so bear with me today while I post the covers for them today. I'll be back with a regular blog in a day or so. THANKS!
Sometimes the only way to find your way home is to leave.
Smoking weed while perched on top of her grandmother’s coffin in the middle of a downpour was not how Jillian had seen the trip from Oklahoma to Minnesota as happening. With flights canceled and the airline employees striking, she had no choice but to improvise and use her rock band’s hearse. And when Gran exits the hearse after the tires skid on a rain slick highway and the back door flies open, Jillian decides to make the best of the moment.
Things only get worse when they arrive in Minnesota and her oldest sister, Shari, has a stroke at the memorial service. Toss in the fact that their grandmother had led two lives—there was a whole other family they’d known nothing about waiting for them in Minnesota—and life suddenly becomes more complicated.
This one was a prize for the long contemporary confessions' contest.
“La Bella Luna” by
Bobbie ColeBuy from MBaM!Read An Excerpt OnlineGenre:
MainstreamISBN: 1-59998-085-1Length: Plus NovelPrice: $6.50Publication Date: January 23rd, 2007Cover art by Scott Carpenter
Mudpacks, murder, deceit, betrayal and tattoos—how much can a friendship sustain without cracking?
Try telling your best friends that your husband is leaving you for another man, or that you’ve slept with one of their husbands and have borne his child. Better yet, let them know you’ve just committed murder or that you’re dying.
Ann, Eazy, Merry and Leta Lou—all four of the Oklahoma City socialites, having spent years merely scratching the surface of their friendship, are thrust into an emotional tornado and left with the devastating ruins of aftermath as the secrets they’ve kept surface. Ann wants to help them rediscover their dreams, but before she can do that, she must first destroy their illusions.
Money can’t buy happiness, forgiveness, or peace, but it can sure make life…and death…a lot more interesting.
Warning, this title contains the following: graphic language and violence.
Smooth RideCash Cole
Smooth Ride By Cash ColeHorse trainer Leo Castle has long had his eye on two prizes—Smooth Ride, the most perfect thoroughbred he's ever trained to race, and Dane Robinson, the blue-eyed jockey who rides him. But after horse and jockey took a nasty fall, Dane disappeared into the shadows with injuries to his leg and his pride. Now that he's back, Leo's determined not to let him get away twice.Dane enjoys his passionate reunion with Leo, but he's about as ready to trust as he is to ride again. With no place to go as winter rolls into eastern Oklahoma, Dane must ultimately accept the warmth Leo offers him. As the holidays approach, Leo proves to be a gift that keeps on giving.
Read an excerpt
Just DessertsLyn Cash
Just Desserts By Lyn CashMarilyn can't help but fantasize about best-selling cookbook author Jackson Delacroix. So far, she's only seen his book jacket photos and heard his sexy Creole accent over the phone—after all, she is his editor—but she'll get to meet him in person soon enough.Jack is furious when he finds out that his editor has signed him up for a cooking contest. He's also frantic. The contest is in three days, and the famous cookbook author can't cook—doesn't know a burger from beef flambé. He's mad enough to tell Marilyn to take the contest and shove it, but one look at her and he's got better ideas. If she's going to put him on the spot like this, Jack thinks she needs to sweat a little bit. Of course, he has his own ways of making her sweat…Things heat up in the kitchen, against the wall, on the floor and over the stove. After all, just desserts can be sweet…and spicy.
Read an excerpt Sexual Content: Rated S-ensuous Genre : Contemporary Book Length: .Novel.
Two firefighters battle the hottest flames they’ve encountered—their attraction to one another.
After a fire sweeps through the school where she teaches and she’s unable to save the life of her best friend, Faith Sloan leaves the chalkboard jungle for a career as a firefighter, only to find that one of her former students may be the arsonist responsible for the current devastation in her area of the city.
Without losing her trust, Captain Chance James must ensure that his rookie firefighter doesn’t get caught between the truth and a killer. He’s willing to bend the rules to protect Faith from harm, but there’s nothing he can do to shield his own heart once they become lovers. Faith takes him into her bed, her parents take him into their home as he recuperates from a freak accident, and soon the rough-and-ready firefighter must decide what he wants most…his woman or his career.
Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex and graphic language.
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Confessions
The class I've been teaching has been a lot of fun. Heart of Dixie RWA chapter is lucky to have Marilyn, who set this up and moderates the Yahoo group. I think I've learned as much from them as they have from me.
Writing has been put on hold during the past two weeks. It's not such a bad idea to take a breather now and then, to recharge the emotional batteries and let the muse run wild in another direction. Somehow I picture my muse as this Celtic hag with wild hair blowing in the wind and a frothy gown that whips about her body as she stands on a cliff high above the sea. Blame it on
The French Lieutenant's Woman that I read as a child or the homemade pizza we had for supper.
A close friend has passed away - these things happen. Another loved one is in limbo between doctor's visits, wondering what type of surgery she's looking at for an eye problem - could be nothing but a bad eye, might be a tumor (hopefully benign) on the eyeyball...or the brain. Whatever it is, I know she's more than a little concerned and that there's not a helluva lot I can do for her other than hold her hand and tell her it'll be alright.
I walked without the assistance of my cane this week. I walked at least a couple of miles total, returned some videos, shopped for groceries, all sorts of things, and it felt good. I felt like someone had beat me with the ugly stick when I got home, but I felt like I'd accomplished something important. Sure, I'd kept from falling on the ice and snow, and I'd brought the heart rate up, but it was more than that. I have memory problems, you see - a brain injury from early 2001. Any time I can go somewhere alone and make it back home without incident is cause for celebration.
This time...was just different. I felt connected, despite all the emotional crap, the worry because the truck died, the fretting over friends' health, and all the minutia of the week.
It just struck me - one of the reasons I felt happy today. I heard the geese overhead this morning when I let the dogs out to do their business. It's almost spring, and the geese are coming home.
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The Goose
I met The Goose, a nickname he went by, when we were about ten years old or so. He was Goose, his brother Turkey, and I was dubbed Quail – all breasts and bird legs. We lived to torment one another. By junior high, however, we'd become friendly adversaries. He asked me to walk with him at Freshman Graduation, but then he also asked a half-dozen other girls to do the same. I'm not sure, but I think he was just hedging his bets in case one of us became angry at the last minute and ditched him.
Not one to pussyfoot around, and only looking out for myself, I pinned him against the lockers one day between classes and threatened to cut off his nuts if he stood me up. I already had the dress, the dyed-to-match heels, and the appointment with the town's premier beautician for the mile-high hair. Not wanting to sacrifice his testicles, he acquiesced.
We avoided the romantic tension that was building. He dated one of my best friends—I dated one of his rivals. When his girlfriend’s father passed away the day before our senior graduation, he and I skipped school, despite being threatened by our teachers, and we drove to her house to be with her.
Later, when I was in college, he joined the service, and this time it was he who pinned me down. The night before he shipped out to Korea, there were several passionate kisses and long talks. He told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. I knew it wasn’t a repeat of Freshman Graduation, but I couldn’t commit. For reasons I still don’t understand, I was unable to answer his letters. I married – he came home and married – and we never spoke of it again.
Somehow…I always thought we’d have the chance to talk.
God bless, honey. Fly high.
Steve Poplin
1952-2007
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I CONFESS
I CONFESS!
The online ‘how to write confessions’ class starts tomorrow. Interested parties can check out the information here. The Heart of Dixie romance writers are sponsoring the two-week seminar, and so far there are about 50 attendees, so somebody there is doing some marvelous promotion! Thank you, Heart of Dixie, for taking charge of this!Mary Ellen sends this funny. Some of you may have seen it, but it’s worth repeating here:
open a new file in your PC
name it ‘housework’
send it to the recycle bin
empty the recycle bin
your PC will ask if you wish to empty the recycle bin
you promptly and firmly press YES
now…don’t you feel better?
Kris Starr sent: When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila & salt then call me over!CJ sent several things that make one go hmm – this is one of my favorites: Remember that an amateur built the Ark, but professionals built the Titanic.
Liz Wolfe sent the tattoo. Bummer if you have this and get sent to jail or prison, huh?
She also sent 'hot flash', which I hope will load. I've seen this one before, but it never fails to give me a chuckle.
I've forgotten what it's like not having email. I know my first PC was an old Apple II, and I remember having the "is this a VHS world or a Beta" when I chose between Apple and an IBM the next time. I just have to struggle to remember what it was like not having email. Does this mean I'll be a hip grandmother when that time arrives? Or will I pass out when my grandchild asks me what those huge CDs hold when she/he holds up a record album?
Don't laugh - Rinda's daughter already did that to her.
On the writing front, I contracted a couple of things during the past few weeks. Spies, Lies, & Duct Tape sold to Ellora's Cave. Something else sold, but I'm drawing a blank.
Crystal Clear Persuasion got an ISBN #. 9781419910166. Release date with EC is April 6th.
Have a great week, everybody!
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New Airport Restrictions & Other Groaners
1. Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.
2. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."
3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.
4. A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says, "A beer please, and one for the road."
6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"
7. "Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home .'"
"That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome."
"Is it common?"
"Well, it's not unusual."
8. Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning.""I don't believe you,"says Dolly."It's true, no bull!" exclaims Daisy.
9. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.
Four year education at the University ofWest Virginia? =$57,896.00
Admission to a fraternity party? = $10.00
A Canon PowerShot 5.0-Megapixel Digital ELPH Camera? = $399.00
Sending Mom and Dad a picture of you and your friend =PRICELESS
STILL DON'T SEE IT? LOOK OVER THE SHOULDER OF THE GIRL ON YOUR LEFT
10. I went to a seafood disco last week...and pulled a mussel.
11. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.
12. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!".
13. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.
14. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse."But why?", they asked, as they moved off."Because", he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."
Einstein's Theory
The 19th of January was Einstein's birthday. He would have been 107. Few people remember that the Nobel Prize winner married his cousin, Elsa Lowenthal, after his first marriage dissolved in 1919. He stated that he was attracted to Elsa because she was well endowed, and postulated that if you are attracted to women with large breasts the attraction is stronger if there is a DNA connection. This came to be known as Einstein's Theory of Relative Titty. * * *
Oh be quiet - - I don't write this stuff, I just pass 'em on!* * *
There were others, but I just didn't have the heart to post 'em.
* * *
Okay, so if you're still hanging here, maybe you'd like to know that my writing buddies (we are CPs plus did an anthology together for Ellora's Cave) have some knews.
Summer Devon and
Kris Starr both received the JERR silver star award for their novells (mine will be out in April, but don't hold your breath on my winning anything - I have yet to get a good review from them - for some reason these gals really don't like my writing - lol - I mean REALLY don't like it - nothing ever above a 3 out of 5 that I can remember).
* * *
As for what else is new?
Red Hot Lover is up for a
CAPA award, as is
Leaving Mama.
Cash Cole’s 1st male/male romance sold nearly 300 copies the first 3 weeks after it debuted, end of December.
* * *
I'll be signing copies of both Just Desserts and Leaving Mama at the
Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Houston, end of April.
* * *
...and...That's it for today. Have a nice rest of the week, everybody. More later...
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The class I've been teaching the past couple of weeks is having a contest today, and the winners get their choice of the following stories, so bear with me today while I post the covers for them today. I'll be back with a regular blog in a day or so. THANKS!
This one was a prize for the long contemporary confessions' contest.
Smooth RideCash Cole
Just DessertsLyn Cash
“Red Hot Lover” by Lyn Cash
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