Insomnia, a review, random news & music

Not sleeping more than 3 or 4 hrs a night (with sleeping pills) is taking its toll but I'm pressing on to stay productive. I've been dealing with sleep issues for 10 years so it's really nothing new, just a little worse than usual right now. Recently I've been trying to set a goal every day since that at least makes me feel productive. My goal for today is to get to 60k on my cowboys - 2300 written so far and 300 to go and Christian Kane's drawling away on iTunes, offering his usual inspiration. ;)
Happy Insomniac Thursday. ;/

In the good news department, I received a really awesome 5/5 star review for Domestic Relations a couple weeks ago that I thought I'd share. DR hasn't gotten many reviews yet so this one made my day. :) And I swear I don't often post the entire review but today, I'm going to make an exception because it makes me smile and sleepy smiles are always a good thing.

Author interview/give-aways schedule ☺

Thanks so much to everyone that's commented on my blog this week. I think the interviews are going well and I've still got another week of them to share with you. But first since I've got you here under the false pretence of giving you an author schedule - bwahahahahah - I have to do a little pimping of my own (more to come I'm sure).

My first published work comes out December 27 from MLR Press and I have to say I'm pretty proud of it. I fell in instant love with the Josiah in my head and his situation, not to mention that big old heart that he tries so hard to hide. Wyatt is very different from Josiah - his heart is wide open and ready for business and I really love that about him too. For any of you who've read my free story Outfoxed, you'll find this is a very different read. I'd never written a cowboy story before and though it's more of an emotional ride than one on horseback, I hope you all enjoy it.

I haz a cover! And I'm graduating from Mom school...

Well maybe a "happee" is a little over-zealous but I was a little on the excited side yesterday when my editor (who is fabulous by the way) sent me the cover for my Christmas story. I know it's the same cover everyone else will have for the Christmas series but just seeing it with my name, the story name and even the series name, brought a bit of a tear to my eye. (everyone already knows I'm a mush head right?)


Anyhow, I got to add it to GoodReads and to my author page and then I just sat and looked at it for a while. *snickers* I know I have my "Outfoxed" cover as well (thank you Zath) but this is the first cover that means I've accomplished something I set out to do. Did I mention that one of my goals - one of the only ones actually - that I set last time in the hospital was to get something published in 2011? Never thought it was actually happen but December 27 is definitely in 2011 so that totally counts. :)  I already have my YA story for 2012 so that's a good start, too. Hopefully more will follow but if not, I'll just be eternally grateful that "Finally Home" found a "home" with MLR.

FINALLY HOME - available December 27 at MLR Press


When his father's funeral brings Josiah Nelson back to his childhood home during the Christmas holidays, he's determined to sell the ranch and bury his past. But after his old friend, Wyatt Aames, rekindles a fire in Josiah's lonely soul, he realizes that home isn't the house you grew up in, it's where your heart belongs.
Click for GoodReads link:

In other news, my youngest turns 19 tomorrow. Nineteen years ago today (a Thursday), I was saying there was no way in hell I was having a baby on Friday the 13th and that's exactly what I did. But he's been nothing but a joy to me so I guess it turned out okay. It's a little harsh when you realize your last baby is in his teens now and wonder what will become of the person you've been for 24 years - Mom. Guess I'll have to figure that out. :)

Character inspiration...

I know this blog has been pretty depressing lately so I'm going to ignore this damn cold and the fact I'm cancelling the rest of my trip and try to spruce it up a little with some purttty and at the same time pimp some of the characters I'm writing right now. I found this fabulous website with not only interesting articles but the most beautiful pics of men and not even naked men, mostly facial close-ups that are just stunning.

GAYTWOGETHER

 So I had - HAD - to keep looking and looking to see if I could find my characters and in most cases I really, really did.


Finally Home (Christmas story to be released on DECEMBER 27 at MLR Press)(sequel already planned out in my head)

Josiah 

(hair's a little short but everything else is perfect especially the innocent, puppy dog eyes)

 Wyatt

(oh yeah, that's Wyatt, look at those lips)

Perfection of Frailty

(working title - my NaNoWriMo story)

I've mentioned it before - Scottish/Tibetan vamp and his ill human lover

Kael

(sexy, loyal, Scottish warrior/Tibetan monk vampire)

(this pic doesn't show the long, flowing locks :P)

Lucas

(stubborn and in need of help)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wolf

(definitely not the title - just description)

This is another Christmas story I'm working on right now in hopes to have it published.

I'm subbing it to Storm Moon Press or Less Than Three 

- both are small and still accepting holiday stories -

and definite sequels are planned since it will only be about 10,000 words.

Can't decide which pub to send it to - advice anyone?

It's almost polar opposite to Finally Home 

- don't wanna give anything away but the first part involves a chicken. :P

Lucius the wolf

 Alistair the witch

Manny the mountain lion

Kristof the Kermode bear

And of course,

Outfoxed 2

(still working away on it but haven't found any better pics

of Rylan and Gage and the other bandmates so this pic

IS them - other boys to follow)

I'm going to be published...

Okay, not OMG Bacon! But OMG, I've been offered a contract for my Christmas story from MLR Press! The email came this morning at a time when it was really needed, when I was a little down in the dumps, and Oh Emm Gee, it put met through the roof. MLR is where some of my fave writers are - SJ Frost, Jet Mykles, James Buchanan - how intimidating is that? I'm going to try and act out of character for now and pretend it's not intimidating at all, pretend I'm not shaking with nerves of happiness and fear. I'm going to get on with my day and ignore the fact I have to sign a contract that I really know nothing about, write not 1 but 3 blurbs which were totally invented by the devil himself, decide on a them for the website that Zathyn Priest is helping me make (*squees*), and still have to finish my YA story for the Gay-Straight Alliance for Monday. Just gonna relax and chill and everything will be fine. *faints*

PS I'm also going to have to convince my beautiful Ivan to overlook his cowboy-phobia and read my boys. :P

Glimpses of life, wips, vikings and Conan the Barbarian... NSFW

I'm back from holidays with a lovely sinus infection, ear infection and strangely enough my eyes are hurting too, plus a boatload of online drama as soon as I walked in the door. I'm trying to just move on but there's still some hurt and self-doubt but rather than dwelling, I thought I'd do a mostly gratuitous post to cheer me up, plus my muse has decided he's too sick to write, too. *pokes him*

WIPs - not the fun part of the post but here's where I'm at on what I'm writing. I obviously have ADHD issues and my muse cannot stick to one idea at a time - I shall learn to train him properly though... soon.

Glitter Fox series - about 15,000 words done on the next part - I've introduced a couple of new characters and decided Rylan and Gage are in for a bumpy ride. There has been and will be sex.

Cowboy Christmas story - No longer a Christmas story since I didn't make the deadline, well to be honest, I didn't try very hard. A week isn't very long especially when you're on holidays with your kids visiting so... I decided not to rush it and it's ended up growing bigger than it was supposed to anyhow. (I do have a problem with that - snickers) It will be the same story that I posted here but without the Christmas slant. Billy-Jo is still all angsty and let's hope Wyatt can do something about that. It's at about 11,000 words and I hope there will be sexy barn sex. lol

Scottish vampire - lost love story - I don't know if the guy in the pic is supposed to be a vampire but he sure as hell should be. *purrs* This story is only about 5,000 words so far but there are notes and stuff kicking around and Kael (my Scottish, Buddist vamp) is very vivid in my head. Hopefully I'll get to it sometime. There will definitely be loving sex.

Angel series - this isn't much of anything yet - a lot of notes but I know my first angel will be Anael, the Angel of Romance. I'm hoping to do a series about the different angels - I know there's other series out there but everyone writes different, right? I'm an angel-junkie so why not? *shrugs* Yep, you guessed it, there'll be angel sex.

YA story - nothing happening with this one right now but I'm quite inspired by the pic and I think one of the young beauties will be names Ivan. :) Probably just some first kisses and caresses and lots of eye-staring and shyness.

And finally, just when my muse has more than enough to inspire me with - and I partially blame this on the movie I went to last week, he gets this hankering to write some sort of barbarian-type romance. (cue the sexy Jason Momoa "Conan the Barbarian" pic) I have 3,000 words but my character isn't a barbarian but a viking. lol
Do you know how hard it is to find sexy viking pics - there are very few.:(

By the way, I loved the movie - my husband was not so impressed. He said Arnold's version was better *gags a little* because there was less dialogue. Lol - my reply "that's because Arnold can't talk". But I mean come on, only a guy would say Arnold was better than Jason - just look at the man. Okay, maybe that just shows my shallow movie choices and love of *ahem* talented (hot) men sweating and fighting and bleeding and just generally looking masculine and mean - don't get me wrong I love my sensitive, pretty boys too - I guess I just like a wide range of men. *snickers again* The theatre was me, some other women and all the rest were men - those women just didn't know what they were missing. The hair, the pecs (he never wore a shirt in the whole movie - swoons), the arms, the freaking hot "skirt and booties". I was ready to go back and watch him, I mean the movie, again. :P

He has a really great smile too. And his eyes always have this sexy, mischievous and gonna-whip-your-ass-for-killing-my-father look in them. *insert sniffles* One of my favourite lines was when he was with the princess-chick and he was like "Women, come here" - no apologies and no sappy "I fall at your feet crap" - he stayed true barbarian. And there was a sex scene - unfortunately with said chick - complete with boobs (lots of boobs in this movie) and his naked butt. Holy hell batman. *drools* Okay, I've gone completely off topic - a couple more gratuitous Jason pics and I'll move on. :P


There's this one...

And this one... (kinda graphic)

And this...

And *sighs* this one...

And finally a couple more.

And he plays this guy in Game of Thrones - or as my boys call it, Sex and Swords.

As for vikings, like I said pics are hard to find. But just think about how cool they are?

Cool ships

Cool helmets

Cool swords

Cool skins - lol

So yeah, I think I can write some hot, angsty, man-loving vikings without too much violence or bloodshed - maybe just in a you-saved-my-ass-I-love-you way. :)

There you have it - my mostly gratuitous, long-overdue post. If you find any hot viking pics send them my way and if you have anything you'd like to see on this blog, I'm open for suggestions - pics, videos, books, give me a sign.

Oh and I just happened to find a very gratuitous pic of Jason, I mean Conan's butt. :D

That was hard work, my head's aching now and I'm gonna go lie down - peace out everyone. :D
PS - this kind of makes me sound like all I want to write is sex but that's pretty far from the truth - the storyline is where it's at for me and if I can incorporate some intense emotion and heartache, I'll do that - then they'll have sex.

Plot bunnies are evil... but fun

I'd been working on the follow-up to my Outfoxed story - a longer one to be submitted to a publisher - 12,000 words so far and I still haven't got to the meat of the story. So I scheduled myself to write at least 1000 words a day while on holidays and I was doing great at that but then I got a stupid plot bunny in my head and decided to write a story for a Christmas anthology. (plot bunny was partially the responsibility of the lovely Lavinia Lewis who put the "anthology" part in my head :P) Only problem is the deadline is September 1 so I'm not sure I'm going to get it done and edited, plus my kids were all at the lake this week so didn't get as far as I'd hoped. No biggie - love having my kids here but truth be told, I'm ready for some dull quiet again.