I feel like a complete HOG--even though I've lost weight and have been keeping up with my exercising.
I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that my clothes are so baggy. I actually lost a whole size (hold the applause), but because my clothes don't fit right, nobody knows. LOL
I've been really in to working out with weights and the days that I do, I like to make sure I supplement my protein so I actually build muscle. One of the things I've been having is a protein shake sprinkled with a little hemp seed.
Yes, hempseed. It's pretty tasty. They look like sesame seeds and they have nice nutty flavor. It can be sprinkled on almost anything. I get mine from my health food store.
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In other news, I went to shut the sliders in my kitchen yesterday afternoon and when I looked in my backyard, I was like, "Gah!"
There was a HUGE bird.
My neighbor thinks it's an egret.
Hubby managed to guide it out of the yard, but it went directly under our neighbor's porch. We're going to call animal control because it's still there this morning. I'm wondering if it's hurt. We'll see what they say.
Hi, all! Happy Monday! I'm excited because my Bliss Entangled
Publishing sister, Robin Bielman, and I have a little "Bliss Kiss Off" giveaway
going on this week! Robin has a new Bliss romance out called Kissing the Maid of Honor and since, well, my Bliss romance is called Kissing Kendall, we decided to combine KISSING forces—romance author style!
All
week we'll be hosting a rafflecopter for a $20 Amazon GC. Giveaway will end
Sunday, May 26 at 11:59 PM EST and winner will be announced on Monday, May 27th. GOOD
LUCK!
So to kick off this "KISSING" week, I figured I'd give
my rundown of kiss types I've seen (and enjoyed) in romance novels/movies/TV.
Seven Kinds of KISSES to recognize in romance
1)
The Unexpected Kiss: This is a good one. The hero and
heroine are mentally about as far away from kissing each other as they can
possibly be, yet, somehow, their lips
accidentally meet through situation or proximity and then...WHAM, suddenly this accidental kiss
starts giving them ideas—like how to do more of it together!
2)
The Diversion Kiss: The hero and heroine deliberately kiss each other in this
one, but with ulterior motives—to each make someone else jealous or to fool
other people that they actually have real feelings for one another. But they're
the ones who get fooled!
3)
The Coming in Hot Kiss: Ever hear this phrase? Yeah, this
kiss has the accuracy of a heat-seeking missile. Your characters have a carpe diem moment and have an unbelievable
urge to join their lips together as soon as possible. This kiss may or not be planned, but
they have been thinking about it for a while, which is why there is so much heat when it finally happens.
Here's an example on this from my book, Kissing Kendall: She met his smoky gaze and a little
traitorous flutter of anticipation settled in her stomach. “Brad—” Then there was no more
anticipation. No more waiting. She wasn’t sure who kissed whom
first—their lips seemed to have met in one fluid motion—and now she clung to
him, kissing him with all the demand his lips had for hers. Brad’s hands traveled up and got
caught in the waves of her hair, holding her close as he continued to explore
every inch of her mouth. The urgency of his lips overwhelmed her. She had never
felt so wanted or so thoroughly kissed before in her life, and she gave herself
freely to his passion. It had been so long since she’d felt this way. She had
no idea what Brad was thinking, but she shocked herself at her own eager
response to him.
4)
The Tentative Kiss: This kiss is especially sweet and seen
a lot between your characters if they're friends first or sometimes if one of
your characters is emotionally scarred, insecure,or maybe young and inexperienced. It's brief
but can still make an impact with a reader.
5)
The Temporary Insanity Kiss: Both your characters
may be perfectly normal law-biding citizens. However, join their lips together and suddenly all reason goes bye-bye
and they're tearing each other's clothes off—sometimes in the most
inappropriate place and time.
6)
The Steam Engine Kiss: This kiss is like a train starting
up. It moves slowly, gears warming up, then once it gets a good momentum
going—look out—because there is no stopping it. This is a combination of a
tentative kiss which turns into a temporary insanity one.
Here's an example of this kind of kiss from Robin's Kissing the Maid of Honor:
"Hey.
I think it’s dinnertime. Should we head to the main house?” she said.
“Not
yet.” He scooted closer. His hand on her shoulder stopped her from rising.
“There’s something I need to do first or I’m going to go insane.” His
brilliant green eyes didn’t just look at her, they seemed to look inside her—a
gaze that touched her heart and claimed every piece of it. She stared back for
achingly long seconds, wondering what he was thinking before she glanced at his
mouth. It was so very, very close. All she had to do was lift slightly and his
lips would be hers again.
He
brushed the back of his hand across her cheek and pulled back slightly, as if
giving her time to reconsider their position. Desire rushed through her at his
sweetness. “Do
it,” she whispered.
7)
The I'm In Love Kiss: This kiss can be shy or hot
depending on your character's personality, but it always contains a certain
degree of tenderness and emotion which lays your characters heart on the line
(without any words needed) for the reader to see.
At this point, you're probably thinking, that's quite
a kiss analysis. But when you write sweet romances, kisses are pretty
much all you've really got going, so you tend to spend a lot time thinking
about them! :)
How
about you? Do you have a type of kiss to add to my list? What's
your favorite type of kiss to see between romance characters? And now for something REALLY fun! Robin and I have pitted two of our favorite ON-SCREEN KISSES against one another here. Robin thinks Luke and Lorelai from The Gilmore Girls have it going on, while I'm all about Jim and Pam from The Office!
Help us decide once and for all and cast your VOTE!
I'm so thrilled to have bloggy friend and author today: Justine Dell
A little bit about Justine:
Justine lives in the Midwest, happily catering to
her family, which consists of a horse obsessed teenage daughter, four dogs, and
a husband who is too good to be true. She's never moved from her hometown, but
hopes to grow old in a much warmer climate. During the day she works a normal job with
college students who try their best to keep her young. They've done a good job
thus far. At night, said teenage daughter and her horse require mounds of love
and attention. The weekends belong solely to her and her writing. That's when
she morphs into a sticky bug, unable to leave the confines of her computer
chair.
She started writing four years ago after seeing
a movie that set off a chain reaction she couldn't have stopped if she'd
wanted. It's not a hobby for her; it's an obsession. One she loves and one she
loves to share. Her debut book, Recaptured
Dreams and her newest release, All-American
Girl, are available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever book are sold.
Justine has a new romance out called All-American Girlthat sounds fantastic! I thought it'd be fun to get to know her book with some fun questions.
Title: All-American
Girl
Hero: Lance Cummings
Heroine: Samantha
Moore
1) describe your hero in THREE words
-determined
-rough-n-tumble-sexy (truly, that’s one word…heh) -stubborn
2) What is the best personality trait of your heroine? Worst personality trait?
-The best personality trait is that Samantha knows she’s broken and desperately wants to be the girl that people remember her as being. So she tries so hard.
-The worst is her temper (but like I said, she’s working on that!)
3) Give us the 140 character TWEET description of your book
-Broken, tempered girl + Mr. Hot-Fix-It-Guy = Roller coaster romance that leaves you breathless
4) What kind of car does or would your hero drive?
Oh, he’s a construction man, so only a pick-up truck will do.
5) Name one thing your heroine would not leave home without.
Hand sanitizer. (She’s a little OCD)
6) What would you pick for your book's theme song?
One of the gals at Literati Literature Lovers sent me a message on Twitter while she was reading the ARC. She said Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” would be perfect for Sam and Lance. I would have to agree. (Never mind that it’s for Twilight).
Thanks so much, Justine! I'm a little OCD too and carry hand sanitizer always. LOL
Now that you know the main characters, here is a little about the book:
BLURB:
At
the age of thirty, with two failed marriages and a tanking writing career,
Samantha Moore deals with the world with the only tool she had left: anger. And
she’s tired of it. When her grandmother's near-death sends her rushing back
home to Vermont, she hopes for the chance to overcome the rage ruling her life. Once she’s home, Lance Cummings becomes a
constant source of indigestion. Lance is a single father who learned first-hand
the devastating effects of a damaging relationship. He sees through Samantha’s
nasty temper—straight to her cry for help. He wants to help her, but he also
wants to know why Samantha ran from him—and their future—twelve years before.
Taking care of her Grams, dealing with an
alcoholic brother, and getting Lance to remove his annoyingly attractive nose
from her business is draining on Samantha. And she’s only got three weeks to
finish her stagnated novel or her publisher will drop her. No pressure. To top
it off, pretending to hate the man she actually loves makes each day in Vermont
harder than the last. Especially when Lance turns up the heat
We’ll give away an ebook copy of All-American girl to a lucky commenter TODAY! ***And don’t forget to stop by Justine’s blog for a chance to win a signed paperback copy, a fancy smancy swag pack, or one of four other romance books. (including one of mine: KISSING KENDALL!)
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
TONS of stuff happening today!!!
(And I have to say, I'm a little tired)
First, I'm being interviewed at The Minxes of Romance blog today! (And yes, sweet fancy Moses, there will be a giveaway of A LITTLE BIT CUPID going on there if you can believe that) :-)
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Secondly, I have a Valentine's Day gift giveaway going on TODAY.
Stop by Read Your Writes,Manga Maniac, or Books and Needlepoint and enter the rafflecopter to win! One lucky winner will receive a swag bag that includes an eBook of A LITTLE BIT
CUPID, an eBook of KISSING KENDALL, and a box of chocolates!
Let me repeat: ****There are CHOCOLATES****
Good chocolates too.
Just sayin'
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FACEBOOK PARTY!
And lastly, if this day wasn't already filled with goodies, I'm hosting a party with my Entangled author pal, Stephanie Monahan, the author of 33 Valentines.
What: Join us on Valentine’s Day, chat with the authors and if you’re lucky, grab some lovely Valentine’s day themed prizes!
According to the NY Post, “The opening scene centers on a middle-aged ladies’ book group, then plunges, like a cougar’s neckline, into sketches making fun of the erotic, best-selling novel.” The show comes complete with a live band and 11 original songs, including “They Get Nasty” and ““I Don’t Make Love, I “F#*!,” per the Post.
Where is the apocalypse when you really need it?
Old News: Still on book blog tour! Today I'm over at A CHICK WHO READS talking about how Kendall's doughnut muffin came to be. :-)
Giveaway:
I will be awarding a free ebook of Kissing Kendall or an ebook from my backlist (winner's choice) to a random commenter at each stop. (There must be a minimum of 5 comments on each blog for a winner to be chosen).
The Second Reason: my author friend Carol Kilgore has a new release in the works and today is her BIG cover reveal!
A little bit about Carol:
Carol Kilgoreis an award-winning author of several published short
stories and many essays and articles.
Solomon’s
Compass is her second novel-- a blend of mystery, suspense, and romance she calls Crime Fiction with a Kiss: always at least one crime and one love story.
Carol and her Coast
Guard husband live in San Antonio, Texas, with two herding dogs that like
nothing better than pack time on the patio
When U.S. Coast Guard Commander Taylor Campbell discovers her uncle’s drowning death was murder, she must determine the killer’s identity in order to prevent another murder. Jake Solomon’s job is to make sure Taylor isn’t the next victim.
USA Today bestselling and award-winning sweet romance author for Montlake Romance, and Entangled Publishing.
Loves the Red Sox and has been on a serious exercise kick. But don't hold those last two against her. :)
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In other news, I went to shut the sliders in my kitchen yesterday afternoon and when I looked in my backyard, I was like, "Gah!" .jpg)
Amazon has lowered the price of my sweet romance KISSING KENDALL to 99 cents again. 
