"Holy nekkid mens, Batgirl!"

I luvs Les Byerley! He's the cover artist responsible for most of my Ellora's Cave covers. And he's done it again with Double Happiness. I'll say again, "Holy nekkid mens, Batgirl!" Excuse me while I go find a towel to mop up the drool...

Blogging at Liquid Silver!

Yes, I know I owe a post about ghost hunting! I'll do it this weekend. In the meantime, in my scheduled day at Liquid Silver, I'm talking about my strange cat Princess. Stop by and comment for the chance to win an ebook download!

http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com/blog/

Shayla

I Ain't 'Fraid a No Ghosts!

The Diamond State Romance Authors are having an outing today. Yes, we're going ghost hunting!

This afternoon and this evening, the lovely ladies of the Central Arkansas Society for Paranormal Research (CASPR) will be giving a seminar on haunted places and ghosts in Hot Springs, Arkansas! This evening, we'll be tramping through a haunted cemetary then tonight, most of us will be staying the night in a haunted hotel!

This is going to be so much fun! Just imagine Delilah Devlin, Myla Jackson and myself dressed in Ghostbuster overalls with our proton backpacks! How fun is that?

I'll be back on Sunday to update our weekend! Or I might be hiding from some of them ghosts! *cackle*

A Release Date!

Finally! LOL Keket's Curse is a novella in the Masters of Desire anthology with Kensington Aphrodisia. Officially, Keket's Curse was my first sale. The offer was made in July of 2006. Yes, 2006. But it's New York print publishing and they are much slower than ebooks. I've been spoiled with fast turnarounds. *cackle*

So after a long wait, and very fast edits last month, the release date is January 2009! *insert Snoopy dancing here* Since my other print books are small press, I haven't had the pleasure of seeing my name on the shelf at the local Barnes & Nobles. Since this is Kensinton Aphrodisia, I will finally have that pleasure! And even better, the other two authors in the antho, Myla Jackson and Layla Chase, are good friends. So I have the added pleasure of seeing my name with theirs!

Now I have to wait patiently for the cover... Patience may be a virtue but no one ever accused me of being virtuous! *cackle*


Keket's Curse - Masters of Desire anthology - Jan 2009

Unedited Blurb:

Jamila Aten had an insatiable lust for men. Literally. Caught in a less than favorable position with the Egyptian priestess Keket’s lover 3000 years ago, Jamila was cursed with a libido out of control. Fortunately, with looks Cleopatra would kill for, Jamila had no trouble attracting men. With only one problem. Sex she could have but one kiss steals her lover’s life.

Detective David Craise couldn’t decide if there was a very clever killer wandering his city or if sex had suddenly become deadly--two healthy young men dead of no apparent causes found in compromising conditions. A mysterious exotic woman was the only connection. Almost the same description of the woman who seduced him last night...

Update on Life, the Universe and Everything!

The last few weeks have been hectic. Between the Evil Day Job, insomnia and quitting smoking, my brain has been mush and my Muse has left for less stressful climes.

Yes, quitting smoking. I've smoked for...well, a really long time. Let's just say more years than I've not. And it's time. And this time, it's going to work. I didn't say to myself I'm going to "try" to quit smoking. I said, "I'm quitting." Not cold turkey without help, mind you. The co-workers at the EDJ would have had to take cover if I'd done this without some help. I'm using nicotine patches.

After reading the back of the Walmart brand, Equate, and the name brand version, I decided the only difference was the $10 in price. I started on July 3rd--nine days and counting--and so far, it's been a breeze.

The only time I had a serious craving was Wednesday. My dog Frankie had a growth on her neck that needed to be removed. This wasn't the first tumor she'd had. Two years before, a growth was removed with no problem and although it was cancer, it wasn't the kind that spread. I figured this would be the same thing.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. This tumor was all over the place. The vet wouldn't be able to remove all of it and what she could get wouldn't be enough and would probably have left Frankie lame. The vet recommended letting her go. As hard as it was, I did. And I appreciate the vet's honesty.

A number of years ago, with a different vet, I put one of my dogs through hell trying to treat the untreatable because I couldn't let go and the vet wouldn't voice an opinion one way or the other. He didn't like advising people to euthanize.

So rest in peace, Francesca Ann. I'm having her cremated and she'll occupy a spot on the shelf with Tasha and Buddy.

Tuesday I had to work from home so I could deal with the plumber. The sewer line was giving me headaches. Sometimes I wonder why I bought a house. Yardwork and home repairs... What a pain.

Romeo decided I needed assistance. Or at least a good view of him napping. This is Romeo's idea of helping--sleeping on my bookbag with my work in it.

He spent most of the day there waking long enough to glare at me when I needed the papers he was sleeping on.

Romeo is so named because he's a lover. Drives me crazy wanting to be petted. I'm a side sleeper and I wake up to find him sleeping on my side with his paws and head hanging over my shoulder. Of course, he hasn't figured out that knocking him off isn't personal. It's usually hot flash related. LOL

I also had a telephone interview on Thursday regarding a new job. It sounds very interesting, would be a little more money and save me forty miles a day on the commute. With the price of gas, that's about $110 a month savings. And it's in West Little Rock, which is convenient to everything! Where I'm at now, there's nothing around. I have to travel even more on the weekend to get things done like nails, hair, car maintenance, etc. Of course, I usually meet up with Momma and Lil Sis on the weekends for sushi lunch so it's not a total waste of a weekend day! I'm not getting my hopes up for the job but it would be nice.

The insomnia is getting better. Most of it was caused by Restless Leg Syndrome. A little hard to sleep when you can't stay still! Doc gave me samples of Mirapex and it's worked really well--except I ran out Wednesday night. Last night was hell! I called the doc this morning to get a prescription called in and the stupid pharmacy claims they never received the fax. *headdesk* Doc's office is open tomorrow so I'll be calling.

Turns out caffiene and nicotine aggravate RLS. I had already cut back on the caffiene by switching to half-caf. Once I finish with the patches, I'm hoping I can dump the RLS meds.

With everything going on, writing had suffered. I did start a new story--m/m. Not much done on it yet but I'm trying!

So there's my update on life, the universe and everything!

Now Available!

LONGING FOR ETERNITY

At Ellora's Cave now!

Blurb:

Serena’s love for Zaki surpassed death, but her transformation into a vampire has kept her separate from him for thirty-four years. Her heart and body crave him, but the natural enmity between vampires keeps their visits brief. Now fate twists its fickle fingers into her life and teases her with a solution. And a piece of her heart she’d thought lost forever.

Zaki has spent two millennia living by the rules of vampiric nature—alone. Sex was a means to blood, not love, until Serena entered his life and enslaved what was left of his soul. Now his longing for eternity with the one woman who captured his heart may become a reality. If they both survive long enough for the cure…

Excerpt:

Thirty-four years ago—Chicago—January

Instead of bright lights and pearly gates, Serena opened her eyes to a dimly lit bedroom. A fire crackled in a large fireplace across from the wide, comfortable bed. Warm blankets held her in place. The only other illumination came from a small lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. A dark figure sat in one of two armchairs placed at angles to the fireplace.

“You are awake.” The man’s accent was unusual. His words weren’t a question but a statement.

“Yes. Where am I?” Serena should be afraid, but she was too tired and groggy to be concerned. Although her coat and winter knee boots were gone, her sweater and skirt appeared to be intact.

“My home, not far from where I found you.” He rose from the chair then walked toward her. His height towered over the bed. His hair was close-cropped, its natural kinkiness giving it texture. His skin was black as coal. The pale blue turtleneck sweater with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows emphasized his darkness. Muscular forearms appeared as sculpted ebony wood.

Fleeting fear tugged at her mind, but the temptation to touch him, make sure he was flesh and not a carved statue, was almost overwhelming. She’d never been in such an intimate situation with a black man. Common sense said she should be concerned. Instead, a shiver of something she couldn’t quite define shook her body then warmth enveloped her.

His full lips curved into an indulgent smile. “You fell in the parking lot. You should be more careful.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “Is there someone I can call?”

“No. No one locally.” She glanced away from the sparkling obsidian eyes. “My car wouldn’t start. I was trying to get to a phone, call a tow truck.”

“You shouldn’t have been down at the lake in this kind of weather.”

“How do you know where I was?” A little shred of fear slipped through the fog in her brain.

“I see you there a lot.”

Serena turned back toward him. “I like the peace and quiet. Lets me think. If you see me there, then you must like it as well.”

“This apartment is the warehouse you were attempting to reach.” His arm swept out, indicating the room.

“Really?” She glanced around the room. Opulent beyond anything she’d seen outside of magazines, the room was large. Heavy dark red drapes covered the windows. The fireplace opening was almost the height of her host. The furnishings were heavy, thick with cushions and trimmed with dark, rich-looking wood. Nothing to indicate it was in an old warehouse. “I always thought this place was abandoned.”

“I prefer people think so. I don’t care for the curious trespassing on my privacy.” His teeth flashed in a brilliant grin against his ebony face.

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave…” Her head swirled as she pushed up on her elbows. Dizziness and her host’s dark hand pressed her back into the pillows.

“I don’t think so. The weather has turned into a blizzard. I’m afraid you’re here for the duration.” He smoothed the cover over her. “Even if we could reach your car and get it started, you are in no condition to drive. You have a mild concussion.”

“That would explain the headache and dizziness.” She reached up to feel a large knot, tender to the touch, centered on the back of her head. “I slipped…on the ice.” The vague memory clarified slightly. Flexing her ankle caused a sharp pain. “Sprained my ankle.”

“Yes, and a rather spectacular fall it was.”

“You saw?” A frown creased her forehead.

He canted his head toward the window. “I was watching. You almost made it.”

“I guess I owe you my life. I would have frozen out there.” Sleep pulled at her eyelids. “Thank you… I don’t know your name.”

“Zaki Bashandi at your service, madam.” His body bent slightly at the waist in a quick, formal bow. On most men the action would look silly. Him…it suited.

“I’m Serena Whitmore. Zaki Bashandi…nice to meet…you… Unusual name…” Her words slurred.

“It’s African.” His lilted accent suddenly made sense.