Nothing quite like a pair of shining moons to brighten up your Monday!

This will be a busy week for me. I have several appointments and I’m scheduled to work two nights. I’ve gotten so used to sleeping at night, no telling how alert I’ll be. Then again, I’ll may wind up keeping everyone else awake talking their ears off.

It’s funny how much more I have to say to people now that I’m sitting in front of a computer all day and into the night. I’m sure my DH has noticed the difference.

I wanted to let all of you know that I will be going to the Lori Foster Author-Reader Get Together again this year. I hadn’t planned on it, but a couple of my writing buddies wanted to go, so I registered last night. It’s limited to the first 60 authors, and I don’t know if I made the cut yet or not, but it’s still a lot of fun just to hang out with people.

Here’s the link for any of you who would like more information. http://www.lorifoster.com/community/readergettogether.php
Hope to see you there!

Interesting example of the correlation between the nose and the penis, don’t you think?

He could SO be a Zetithian with those ears…

It just doesn’t get any better than that. You don’t even have to see his face to know who he is.

Since I received my author’s copies of Stud yesterday, what could be more fun than a giveaway! To enter, simply post a comment telling me why you’d like a Zetithian of your very own. I’ll announce the winner on tomorrow’s blog.

And since Tarq’s physical attributes are based on a certain model we all know and love, today will begin a Derrick Davenport weekend!

I’ll start things off with two of my favorite Derrick pics.

TGIF!!!!

I’ve been driving my son Sam back and forth to work all this week. The truck he normally drives is in the body shop to repair a dent he put in it several months ago when he backed into the hitch on my horse trailer. He hasn’t learned to drive a stick shift yet, and the truck is the only automatic we have, which is why I’m having to play chauffeur. I’d planned to replace my current vehicle with an automatic at some point so we wouldn’t have this problem, but not long ago, he said he thought he should learn to drive a manual. And you know what? He probably will. When he’s motivated, there are very few things he can’t do.

Sam never ceases to amaze me–so much so that I made him a character in the book I’m currently rewriting. The interesting thing is, that when I originally wrote that story, I made the character the same age that Sam is now, but my predictions for him turned out to be incorrect. At the time, the idea of him driving a car was unthinkable, though I did give him a job and his own apartment. He had case worker to take him places back then, so that’s how I wrote it.

In reality, he now has a job and can drive, but is still living at home. He has a girlfriend in the book, but as things now stand, there isn’t a real girlfriend in sight, which is unfortunate. Sam may be a little different in the way he displays affection, and he can be annoyingly frank at times, but I believe he’d make someone a good husband. Honest, dedicated, and reliable, he doesn’t smoke, drink or take illegal drugs. He has a good sense of humor, though he can be a bit moody. He is in excellent physical condition and rarely gets sick. I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like him.

Sam has made an impact on others in ways I’m not even aware of. I recently had the opportunity to talk with Susie, the Special Ed teacher who taught him in grade school. She told me things about Sam I’d never heard before. For example, when the new principal arrived at the high school, he dreaded having to work with Sam. For what reason, I don’t know, but by the time he graduated, Sam was one of his favorite students. He even told Susie that knowing Sam had changed his life. The speech he gave at graduation had me in tears because he talked more about Sam than any other student. The “diplomas” handed out during the ceremony are always empty folders, but because he wanted to be the one to put it in his hand, Sam’s folder actually contained his diploma. I will never forget that moment until my dying day.

When I included Sam in that story, I was making a wish for him to find love and happiness someday. I still believe in that wish.

My regular blog followers all know that Sam is mildly autistic and has a language-based learning disability. But what you may not know is that Stud is dedicated to him, and Tarq’s character has the same learning disability that Sam does.

Sam will probably never read any of my books, nor will he understand the meaning of the dedication. But that’s okay. I know what it means.

And now, so do you.

I wrote the first guest blog for Stud yesterday. Now if I can only keep writing one a day, I’ll be done in a week! Yeah, right… Probably not.

Must hunt up a good whopper for today.

I’ve discovered a problem with not working as much. I used to do a marathon blog writing day and get all the posts for the CBEB scheduled for a full week so I didn’t have to worry about them whenever I had to work. I don’t do that anymore, with the result that the blogs are more current, but I also tend to forget them until very late at night. Fortunately, I thought about this at 3:30. Then Neighbor Janet called and wanted a lead rope with a chain on it to lead her escaped horse home. So, I went to the barn in the middle of writing this. One never knows what interruptions will arise…

Speaking of arising, here’s the whopper!

Imagine what it’ll look like when he grows up!!!!

Forgive me, but I must interrupt your Tasty Tuesday for some news about Stud!

I was notified yesterday of this fabulous review, and Stud will be in the running for Book of the Month on LASR February 4th and 5th! 

Okay, now for the recipe….

Donna sent me this one as a belated birthday present, which seems appropriate for the occasion!

SWEET SPICY CHICKEN

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger root
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

1. Mix together brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and hot sauce in a small bowl.
2. Lightly salt and pepper the chicken strips.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken strips and brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

Well, gang. The Cat Master has a new idea. Not sure where it will take me, but I’m going to play around with it. In the meantime, I’m still working on the rewrites to my early manuscripts while waiting to hear back from Siren on their edits to Small, Medium, & Large. My agent still has Wildcat, and I need to get started on the guest blogs for Stud. Which is to say, the s**t will probably all hit the fan at once!

I’m enjoying the life of a full-time writer. This rewrite is going well, and the day is over before I know it. I was up until 2AM on Saturday night, putting the finishing touches on the first love scene of the book.

Which brings the question: If a book doesn’t get to the sex before Chapter 12, do you throw it against the wall? A friend of mine once told me that if there isn’t sex in the first three chapters, she stops reading.

I don’t know about you, but it seems to me if the sex happens that soon, then there isn’t enough conflict keeping our hero and heroine apart. I like to develop a little sexual tension first.

I’ve been accused of having my characters fall in love too soon–or hold out too long. That may be true in some cases, but my take on the whole romance novel thing is that these people should like each other, fall in love, and then something external makes their lives hell, rather than the hero being a pompous ass.

Like this one.
Enjoy your Monday!

Not my first choice for a pillow, but sometimes, you gotta make do with what you’ve got.

I’m thinking his thighs would be a more comfortable place to lay my head.

Your thoughts?

When all else fails, go with the classics.

Enjoy your Saturday with Derrick!

After yesterday, I just had to go looking for more pictures of Nick. I found some good ones! No yummydoodles, but OMG is he ADORABLE!!!!!

TGIF!!!!

Ever notice how you never want to take your Christmas decorations down, but are always happy once you do it? It must be one of those getting back to normal things. Either that, or it’s a milestone of sorts. The whole “New Year” thing–a fresh start and all that. The house seems cleaner somehow, less cluttered.

I took my tree down Tuesday night, and on Wednesday afternoon, Sam took the lights off the deck. I try to leave them up for a while every year, but he always insists on putting them away, even if he has to do it himself. Personally, I like the lights and wouldn’t mind leaving them up year round. They shine through the bathroom window and help me find my way down the hall at 4AM and are a bright, cheery sight out the kitchen window when I’m at the sink cleaning up after dinner. Maybe if I put plain white lights up, he’d let me keep them. Or maybe it’s an autism thing. Who knows?

I sent Wildcat to my agent and told her I was rewriting three manuscripts, converting them to third person and linking them together in a series. She asked to see the first one when I finish the revisions. Whether she’ll shop it around or advise me to self-pub it remains to be seen. She’s also going to read Wildcat for me and give me some editorial suggestions before I send it off to my Sourcebooks editor in March. I’m hoping she won’t find too much that needs fixing, but you never know. I send chapters to my critique partner thinking they’re in good shape, and they come back to me with all sorts of corrections.

It’s hard to believe that the release of Stud is only five weeks away. Guess I’d better get started on those darn guest blogs. Fortunately, there are only eight of them. Still seems like a lot, though. I’ll be in Gatlinburg when some of them post. I hope the internet there doesn’t fail me!

My brain seems to be jumping around an awful lot this evening. Guess I’d better add the hunk and call it a night.

Cute, isn’t he?

Hmm… The first whopper of 2012… Who will it be?

Someone exotic?

Someone cocky?

Someone young?

Someone younger?

Or just plain HUGE????

 

Or Gerry?

But whichever you choose, may your whoppers be merry!

Here are more Adam Killian pics. See what I mean? A bit intimidating. Would NOT want to piss this guy off!

Hmm…. Now I have to find a recipe to go with him. Something spicy and very, very beefy…

Here’s one! This recipe comes to us courtesy of our own Diva Donna!

Beef Taco Skillet 

(serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell’s® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular or 25% Less Sodium)
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 (6 inch) flour tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.

Now begins that long haul through the rest of the winter. Thankfully, Stud will be here in another month to liven things up, but in the meantime, here are some nice warm buns to get you thinking spring!

Beats champagne and fireworks, doesn’t it?

Hope your 2012 is positively ORGASMIC!

Break out the bubbly and the munchies and celebrate with…

Hmm…  Who would you like to kiss at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve?

Derrick?

Benji?

The BIG Chief, Daniel?

Marco?

Yvan?

Rafael?

Cody?

Or John?

No matter who you choose, it’s bound to be fun!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!