Release Day and Remembrance Day

My post today is a split-personality post.

First of all I want to say a few things about my book Rhythm of Three which was out Oct 29. I’m so humbled and thrilled by the response to this book! I knew many readers wanted it, from the emails and Tweets and Facebook messages and reviews that asked for more of Kassidy, Chris and Dag’s story.

When my fabulous editor Sue Ellen Gower suggested I add more detail at the end about some of the problems these three would face in a polyamorous relationship, I agreed to do that. I wrote about some of the things they might face — one thing Kassidy thought about was when her mom was in a car accident and in the hospital and only family could visit. If one of them was in a similar situation, which one of Chris and Dag would be considered her spouse? If it happened to Dag or Chris, which one of them would be considered his spouse? What about co-workers? Friends? Family? What would they think of this relationship?

I knew there was much more to tell, and so a few months back when I got the urge to write an other ménage story, I decided to carry on with theirs.

One of the obstacles Chris, Kassidy and Dag DON’T face, however, is jealousy. It seems to me that to be in a successful polyamorous relationship, you just can’t be jealous. You have to be generous. I can’t see a relationship like that working-- EVER-- if there is jealousy. So with Kassidy, Chris and Dag, there is no jealousy. They all love each other and want each other to be happy.

Yes they have doubts. Yes, some of those obstacles make them question their choices. The life they’ve chosen will not always be easy.  I hope you enjoy how they overcome these obstacles. And yes…there might be one more story to tell about these three.

**

I can’t ignore that today is Remembrance Day here in Canada (Veteran’s Day in the US). I saw a news piece about this song the other night on television and it really moved me.

Bryan Adams is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, producer, actor and photographer. You may have heard of him. :-) He co-wrote a song to pay tribute to the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. And then he invited all the Edmonton-based wives of the soldiers to sing the song in the video.

Of course the words of the song are especially meaningful to the wives of soldiers. Bryan admitted the song sounded better coming from them than from him.

In honour of Remembrance Day, here’s the video of the song. Enjoy. And remember.

Happy anniversary to us!

Yes, the Nine Naughty Novelists are celebrating our 4^th anniversary. Four years ago, nine random strangers (more or less) formed a blog group to help promote our books. Here we are, still together, still going strong. We’ve made friends with so many other authors through guests on the blog, and through special events where we’ve joined forces, most notably our Cover Model Karaoke party at RT Booklovers Convention along with the Smutketeers. We’ve also collaborated on several group projects that have been hilarious and fun and successful beyond our wildest dreams! And we’ve become friends.

You all see the Nine Naughty Novelists we show the world — our blog, our Facebook page, our Twitter handle— but there is way more to this group than shows on the surface. Behind the scenes we are friends, chatting nearly every day about nearly everything — our writing, the publishing industry, good reviews and bad reviews, rejections, new contracts and even our personal lives. We vent, we rant, we give advice and we support each other.

To celebrate, we’re having a party on our Facebook page this weekend. Come on over where we’ll be posting some of our favorite blog posts from the past four years, and having a “Guess the Naughty” trivia contest. All comments are entered to win our grand prize:

 

One winner will win the Kindle (or, recognizing that many already have electronic reading devices, you may choose either the Kindle or a gift card in equivalent amount).

As well, we’re each giving a book from our backlists to nine other winners.

Happy anniversary to us!

Friday Book Club: Mount TBR

It sneaks up on you.

You don't even notice at first. You barely think about having an extra one. Or two. Before you know it, five more have shown up and you still can't stop yourself. You want more. You need more.

Shelves are creaking, your device is threatening memory overload, but the compulsion to add to your collection is not easily held in check. And who could blame you? Everywhere you look another one is recommended, another you've been waiting for is finally available. And some are just too good of a deal to pass up.

The next thing you know, they're everywhere. Waiting to be started, half finished, samples skimmed. You can't walk into a room or turn on your device without your To-Be-Read pile threatening to eat you alive.

You try to keep up.

Dust bunnies are left to multiply under the couch. Dishes linger in the sink. Arguments are made for why it's okay for your kids to wear mismatched socks when the laundry gets away from you.

You finish a few books you enjoyed, savor the precious handful you adored and have already forgotten the ones you could barely get through. For a brief time you manage to tame your TBR pile.

But deep down you know it's inevitable. Like a child not wanting to get caught with their hand in the cookie jar, you bide your time until you're driven to borrow or buy another book. Just one though. One more couldn't hurt...

What was the last book you rescued from your TBR pile? Was it a new-to-you-author or an old favorite? How big is your TBR pile? Inquiring minds want to know. :)

Pick Your Pleasure: Tis the Season!

If you could only celebrate one winter holiday, would it be Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years?

1. Kelly: I LOVE Christmas!! Sparkly things and food and presents!!
2. PG: Rose Parade Day. (what? Have you seen those floats?) Either that or Twelfth Night, because why not draw things out as long as possible?
3. Meg: I'm sort of torn between Thanksgiving or Christmas b/c I love the food prep aspect of Thanksgiving (plus seeing my kids). But overall, I'd say Christmas.
4. Kinsey: Christmas!
5. Sydney: Definitely Christmas! I love seeing how excited my kids get and remembering when there was nothing as exciting as trying to fall alseep so Santa would come.
6. Erin: No contest... Christmas!
7. Skylar: While I love Thanksgiving and Christmas, I think the one I'd love to keep celebrating is New Years! It's such a fresh start and I'm a sucker for fireworks.
8. Kate: Christmas. As long as that includes Christmas Eve, the setting for the best smorgasbord of the year

Which winter holiday is your favorite to celebrate?
	Halloween
	Thanksgiving
	Christmas
	New Years
	Other!
pollcode.com free polls

Doorway to ... what was that again?

Typical moment in my life: I’m at the computer, working hard. I realize I’m thirsty. I walk into the kitchen. I spot a phone bill that I was supposed to pay. I look for my purse, realize it’s back at my desk. I walk back to my computer, where I sit down and check  Facebook. An hour later, I surface, desperately thirsty, phone bill still unpaid. That’s when the cycle starts over again, with perhaps a few tweaks here and there.

As a writer, I’m naturally inclined toward distraction. I use up all my focus while I’m working on my manuscript. When I take a break, I wander around in a sort of daze, remembering other crap I’m supposed to take care of, then forgetting it again. But can I really use writing as an excuse? Maybe I’m just getting more forgetful as I get older.

Isn’t that a lovely thought.

Luckily, I just stumbled across some information that puts the blame not on me or my deteriorating mental state, but on an inanimate object. Believe it or not, DOORS. Did you know that those dastardly doorways can cause memory loss? In one study, volunteers walked through a virtual “room,” picking up an object from one table and taking it to another. The object – being virtual -- would disappear after they picked it up. If the subjects walked through a doorway to the next table, they had much less chance of remembering what that object was. If they simply walked across the room, they had no trouble.

Yes! That’s exactly what happens to me all the time!

The research concluded that doors act as “event boundaries” in your mind. Event boundaries are one way the brain filters information and decides what’s important to hang onto. Anything that happened before you walk through the door gets filed away in the archives as your mind prepares for what it will encounter on the other side of the door. So if you leave one room for a certain purpose, that purpose may only come back to you once you return to that room.

Has that ever happened to you? Aren’t you relieved to learn that it’s totally normal? I am. The downside is that I’m not sure how to trick my brain into remembering what I came into the kitchen for. I wonder if Post-it notes will do the trick.

So … have you encountered the phenomenon? Do you have any good memory techniques?   

Guest Blogger Karen Stivali - First Kiss

There are several things I can guarantee you’ll find in all my books: romantic love stories with happy endings, decadent descriptions of food and plenty of steamy sex. I love writing those things and could never pen a book that didn’t contain all those elements. But you know what my favorite thing to write is? The first kiss. As much as I enjoy crafting all the other bits, that’s what always gets me. I’m a sucker for a first kiss.

In my new contemporary romance, Leave The Lights On, Parker and Sophie’s first kiss is over a decade in the making. Although they’ve secretly crushed on each other since grade school, one thing or another has always kept them apart, until now. Neighbors again for the first time in years they’re both single, both healing from traumatic events and both experiencing a resurgence of all the feelings they never had a chance to express when they were younger. So, in honor of those heart stopping moments when the object of your affection finally makes the move, here’s a sneak peek at Parker and Sophie’s long-awaited first kiss.

Excerpt from Leave The Lights On:

I’m kissing Parker. Sophie repeated the words to herself but couldn’t quite believe they were true. His hand left her face, and she instantly missed his touch until she realized he was just moving it lower. A strong arm curled around her waist, drawing her closer. Broad chest pressing against hers. Hips rocking into her. Tongue. Oh, God, velvety soft tongue circling hers. Words ceased to exist as she rode the mind-numbing swirls into a blissful oblivion.

His lips closed, brushing hers once more. “It’s still raining.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” She was breathless enough that the words came out as a whisper.

She caught the quick grin that passed over his face before his mouth returned to hers. Holy shit. She’d always imagined he’d kiss well but nothing like this had ever even entered her fantasies. Gentle yet hungry, subtle but commanding. She moved in toward him, somewhat dizzily aware of the fact that he was hard. Her heart beat so fast she was sure he could feel it through their drenched clothes.

“We’d better get to the car.” His voice startled her, and she realized her eyes were still closed.

Shaking her head, she felt the heavy, water-soaked tips of hair hitting her cheek. “Okay.” She’d have agreed to pretty much anything he suggested at that point. All she really wanted was another moment with his mouth on hers.

“Come on.” Parker held out his hand, and she slipped her fingers into his.

He’s holding my hand. Her fourteen-year-old self did a happy twirl in her head. Her twenty-four-year-old self felt more excited than she had in… When was the last time she felt this? Heat flooded her face. Breathless, she ran with him through the rainy streets until they finally reached the car.

Parker opened her door, and she climbed in, tossing her purse into the backseat. Watching in the rear-view mirror, she saw him open the hatch and stow the bags. God he looks good soaking wet.

The door slammed shut, and Parker trotted to the front of the car, swinging into the seat next to her. His shirt clung to the muscles of his chest, his hair dripped. This must be what he looks like in the shower. She felt her cheeks tingle, realizing she was picturing him naked.

“You okay?” he asked, raking his hair off his face, beads of rain still clinging to his long dark lashes.

Nodding, she tried to focus on getting the keys in the ignition. “You?”

“I’m great.”

She turned to find him looking at her with a smile she’d never seen before. His eyes were dark and expectant, twinkling at her like two mischievous sapphires. Tumbling over its own beats, her heart danced a jig.

The rain continued, battering the car in solid sheets as she made her way home. By the time they pulled into her driveway it was nearly three thirty. “Sorry we got back so late. Are you going to make it to your appointment?”

“It’s right in town. I’ll be fine.” He got out of the car and opened the hatch.

“I’ve got it, you go. I don’t want to make you late.”

Grabbing the tote bags, he laughed. “Will you please just get in the house?”

Sophie fiddled with the keys until she found the right one. She held the door, sneaking a look at Parker’s clingy shirt from behind as he moved past her. The defined muscles of his back looked just as tempting as his chest. Not to mention his ass. Get a hold of yourself, will you?

“Good thing these bags are waterproof, or all those samples would have turned into soup.” He set the bags on the kitchen counter.

“What? Oh, yeah.” Free samples were the last thing on her mind. She wished he didn’t have to go.

“Thanks for taking me to the show. It was great.”

Great didn’t begin to cover it. “Anytime.” Say something else. Her brain refused to function.

“I better get going or I really will be late.”

“Oh, okay. Sure.” Think, dammit.

Parker headed back to the door.

“Do you want to borrow an umbrella?” Brilliant. Very seductive. How can he possibly resist a come-on like that?

“You can only get so wet, and I think I’m there.”

You and me both. She held her breath, hoping she hadn’t said that out loud.

Parker reached for the handle of the screen door then paused. “I’ll be done with PT by six—do you want to grab dinner later?”

There was nothing she’d rather do but she shook her head. “I can’t. I’ve got to meet with one of my clients tonight. Her fiancé lives out of state, and this is the only time they’re both available before the wedding.”

“Okay.” Parker’s eyes shifted away from hers.

“But I’m free tomorrow night.”

The smile that curved across his lips sent a tugging sensation from her heart straight to her thighs. “Tomorrow’s great. It’s a date. How’s six o’clock?”

“Perfect.” A date. She had to keep from bouncing on her toes.

He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss that left her feeling completely devoid of oxygen. “See you then.”

Nodding, she watched as he stepped back out into the downpour and jogged back to his car. I have a date with Parker. What the hell do you wear on a first date with the guy you’ve been pining after for over a decade?

Blurb for Leave The Lights On:

When love throws you a curve, swing for the fences.

Parker Wood’s dreams of becoming a professional baseball player are shattered when he’s injured in a devastating car crash. After two years in hospitals and physical rehab facilities, he’s ready to move back to his childhood home and take over the family landscaping company. The house and business are his, now that his father has passed.

Sophie Vaughn has suffered through a hellishly public divorce from a husband who couldn’t manage to stay faithful for two months of marriage. Determined not to let her personal drama impact her successful wedding and party planning business, she buys her parents’ old house, hoping the comfort of familiar surroundings will help her heal.

When Parker and Sophie discover they’re neighbors once again, it’s as if time has stood still. Their friendship is quickly rekindled, along with the decade-long crush neither of them ever admitted having. Then the heat between them exposes a long-held secret that threatens to tear them apart…unless they can detach from their painful pasts and move forward—together.

Warning: Contains sultry summer nights, steamy pool-side encounters, and you’ll never look at a jar of peanut butter the same way again.

Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies and fictional British men. She is a multiple award winning author of contemporary and erotic romances for Ellora's Cave, Turquoise Morning Press and Samhain Publishing.

Website: http://karenstivali.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenstivali

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/karenstivali

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5170527.Karen_Stivali

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005KWSFGO

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/karen-stivali

AllRomanceEbooks: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Karen+Stivali

Lessons Learned This Halloween

As I write this, I'm huddled on the couch in the family room at the back of the house, all the lights off except the one over my shoulder. Even the outside lights are off, a signal to the trick-or-treat stragglers that no, we're not handing out any more candy tonight.

When we moved into this neighborhood last year, we were warned that it was the go-to place on Halloween. "Plan for close to a thousand trick or treaters," they said.

I was dubious, but we bought the candy anyway. Then, the deluge hit. Rain ran down the streets in rivers. And still, we had 500 costumed visitors.

This year, the weather was clear and mild. And let me tell you, Halloween was an experience!

Here are my observations:

1. For some reason, our house was the most-skipped on the block. We watched group after group walk right on by, despite the orange holiday lights, the open path to the front door, and the kid sitting outside with a bowl of candy at hand. We eventually hauled a wicker chair to the end of the driveway, directly in view of the crowds.
2. Even so, we still got skipped. I ended up holding a flashlight over the chair, sending the light directly onto the candy bowl. That seemed to help.
3. If you're old enough to apply for a job, a mortgage, or a car rental agreement, you're old enough to stop trick or treating. Especially when you can't be bothered to put together even a rudimentary costume.
4. There are some amazing costumes out there. I was really impressed. Not so much with the teen boy Hollister underwear models.
5. Food is important. Candy does not cut it as dinner, sad to say. 
6. Traffic was up this year, even accounting for the better weather. Probably thanks to whichever neighbor contacted the local paper and requested we be included in the "best places for candy" round up - the only neighborhood in a sea of merchant associations, malls, churches, and community centers. Warn us next time, okay?
7. I need to wear a coat next year. Brrr.

How was your Halloween? Busy, quiet, or something different entirely?