Guest Blogger Miranda Baker - Vegas Baby!

Vegas, baby!

My husband and I are going away for the weekend! Yes! Sans kids! Hell, yes! It will be the first “vacation” we’ve taken alone for almost six years. The last time we were naked in a hotel room together I was pregnant with our third and last child.

Whoa.

I really didn’t think it had been THAT long. Huh. Well, whatever – with children comes responsibility and we love the little buggers! Our youngest has just reached the age where we feel like we can leave him with Grandma and Grandpa and he’ll be excited instead of traumatized. I’m hoping this equals a guilt-free trip for us because we’re planning a weekend of sex and poker in sin city. We’ve already decided to check our luggage, so we can pack naughty things and not blush during a bag search. We’re also going to see Zumanity, the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil (http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/zumanity/media/official-video.aspx). I am hoping, praying, and willing to trade just about anything for the ability to relax.

Confession: I work a lot. I am (some would say obsessively) project-oriented. It’s gotten worse since I got published because I’ve taken on another job in addition to my teaching and mom-ing. Working 16/24 has become my normal and the thought of unplugging, even for a weekend, makes me feel a little schvitzy. But I must. In my heart, I know it would be ridiculous to go to Vegas and do the same things I do in New York. (Irony: We’re staying at the New York, New York Casino.) I’m not going to get rip-roaring drunk, gamble like crazy, or hire a hooker. (Maybe.) I’m going to do something even more bizarre for me: I’m not going to work. *deep breath* I can do that, right? (Note: Research done in strip clubs, sex clubs or with the jack of clubs doesn’t count as work!)

By the time this posts, I’ll be back home. (I’m working ahead, LOL!) I’d love to chat about Vegas in the comments – did I mention I’m a Vegas Virgin? I’m not a gambler (yet) but my husband is a hell of a poker player. I’ll tell you about our weekend, and I hope you’ll have some stories to tell me, too. A random commenter will win something I bring back with me. Lord only knows what will catch my eye! If you don’t have any Vegas stories, feel free to chime in with something crazy or challenging you have done in the name of fun. In the name of fun…I will not work. And when I get back, I’ll tell you all about it!

About Miranda Baker

It makes me chuckle to think about all the romantic short stories I wrote in my rather too literary creative writing classes in college. If only one of my professors had steered me toward popular fiction! On the other hand, if I had discovered my calling back then, I wouldn’t have gone to culinary school, I wouldn’t have met my husband, we wouldn’t have had three children and I wouldn’t have turned to erotic romance to get my mojo back during all this hair-raising kid raising.

My website: http://www.mirandabaker.com

Amazon Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/SoloPlay-Come-Again-Book-ebook/dp/B004X2ADGC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326208792&sr=8-1

SoloPlay
Come Again, Book 2

It takes two to toy with love.

When librarian Alisa Mane’s boyfriend accuses her of being frigid, she sets out to prove him wrong the only way she knows how—with research.

A visit to the local sex shop uncovers the sizzling sensuality locked beneath her cool façade, and she eagerly accepts the opportunity to test sex toys for SoloPlay Enterprises. Under the code name “Sologirl”, she begins exploring her body on her own terms. After all, no one was ever rejected by a vibrator.

Mark Winters needs his new DoublePlay line of toys to hit big, and there’s only one tester for the job—Sologirl. She fires his imagination with playfully erotic reviews and never fails to pick a winner. There’s only one problem—Sologirl refuses to test the DoublePlay toys for couples. With his company’s success on the line, he decides to make his offer again, up close and in person.
One look at the icy hot Mark and Alisa realizes he’s her best chance to discover if any man can satisfy her. A red-hot month of experimentation more than answers that question, but now Alisa has another problem—DoublePlay is almost ready for production and her feelings for Mark have nothing to do with business. Is she brave enough to continue playing…with her heart?

Product Warning: This book contains a sexy librarian, an icy hot businessman, scandalous emails, scorching male/female and female/female play time, and vibrating, well…everything.

Throwing Caution To The Wind

I have a confession to make.

I'm a planner.

I have a hard time doing things on the spur of the moment. I like to weigh the pros and cons, look at all the angles, find my way through a decision by taking the time to really consider it. I like having everything planned out in advance.

But somehow, last week I ended up buying a last-minute plane ticket to an event I wasn't even thinking about the day before.

In the space of about 24 hours, I went from "Oh, doesn't that sound like fun, wish I could..." to "Well, why the hell not?"

So by this time next week, I'll be finishing packing for a two-day trip to California to watch a pilot for a new TV show being filmed. I don't know if the show will get picked up by the network; I don't know if the script even includes the actor I'm hoping to see perform. I do know that I'll meet friends from all across the US who are going to be there for the same reason, and I know we'll have a fantastic time whatever happens.

I don't see this becoming a habit; I'm too invested in planning things out to throw caution to the wind like this on a regular basis. But once in a while?

All I can say is, "why the hell not?"

Into The Woods

I love camping. Always have, from the time I was a kid tent-camping with my family. Our favorite family vacation was boat-camping in the San Juan islands, when we'd stuff everything we needed in our little 15-foot open bow boat and head out to an itty-bitty island that barely made the maps, which consisted of two campsites, two pit toilets, and a bunch of trails to explore.

Today, I camp with my own family, though we don't rough it quite so much. Our pop up trailer has all the comforts of home, after a fashion, including light and heat and refrigeration and heated mattresses. (Okay, that would be *more* than the comforts of home, since I don't have a heated mattress.)

I'm a fan of hotels, too, and private bathrooms and room service and not having sand everywhere despite my best efforts. But there's something about camping that seems to bring us together in a really cool way. We spend time together without electronics to take attention away. We hike and explore and take pictures and goof around. And we find common ground, which is so important as the kids get older. Last year, we were sitting in our pop-up late one evening, all of us reading, the heater keeping the night chill at bay. It was one of my favorite memories from the summer.

So I'm off to finish packing. Wish me luck!

Do you have a favorite summer activity or family vacation memory? When it comes to going on holiday, do you prefer roughing it, pampering yourself, or something in between?