Friday Reads

So how's your week going? Are you glad it's over? God knows I am - I haven't written a word in two weeks (don't tell Sky!) I've been weeded like hell with expert witness research on, like, twenty people. I'm a very thorough, somewhat OCD researcher to begin with, and if you do EW research correctly, it's very time-consuming and involves combing through many, many documents. (OK, I know. Enough with the librarian talk, Kins.)

I know the other Naughties have been busy. Poor Syd is sick, and I'm doing this Friday read.

Soooo. Whatchoo been reading?

I'm reading a few things that I'm enjoying. Here they are, in order of my interest in them (not that you asked):

1. Skippy Dies. I'm about halfway through and I'm afraid that Skippy will really die. This book is amazing - funny, heartbreaking, weird, poignant, everything. The only reason I haven't read it in one sitting is that, as I said, I'm afraid Skippy is really gonna die. The book's been pretty unflinching so far and it doesn't strike me as one where Everything Turns Out Okay In the End. Trust me - even if you don't think a book set in a semi-elite boys' private school in Dublin is your cup of tea, this one could surprise you.

2. Absurdistan. Every once in a while, despite my best efforts, I fall for a "literary" writer, and Gary Shteyngart is one of them. I loved The Russian Debutante's Handbook, and I love Absurdistan. He's a fantastic prose stylist, he has a hilariously deadpan sense of humor, his insights into American and Russian culture are deep and searing and, unlike Skippy Dies, I'm not the least bit invested emotionally in any of Shteyngart's characters. I know that sounds awful - how can you like a book if you don't identify with or care about the characters? Trust me. You can doo it. (Say that last line in a Rob-Schneider-in-an-Adam-Sandler-movie voice.) (If you don't watch Adam Sandler movies then congratulations, you're better than me.)

3. Bill the Vampire - The Tome of Bill series is self-published and, at least in this first volume, it kind of shows. There are parts of the book where the humor feels forced, or the narrative goes into a little bit too much detail - but this is nitpicking on my part. It's a funny book. The protagonist is a great mixture of dweeb and hero, and I like the relationship he has with his two best bros/roommates, who are quite believably nonchalant when they discover he's become undead. Whatever its flaws might be, it keeps me turning the pages. And I really want to find out why Bill bursts into flames when he touches a mint condition Optimus Prime action figure.

Okay, that's me. What about you?

Thursday 13: Favorite Summertime Activities, Part II

We're so excited about summer, one Thursday 13 couldn't contain it! Read Part 1 here.

1.  Infusing gin and drinking gin & tonics on the front porch. (Skylar Kade)
2. Going camping with the family. (Kate Davies)
3. Finding new farmers' markets. (PG Forte)
4. Playing in the garden. (Juniper Bell)
5. Visiting wineries and drinking wine on whatever patio they've got going. (Meg Benjamin)
6. Blockbuster releases like Man of Steel! (Skylar Kade) 
7. Gardening (Kelly Jamieson)
8. Sitting around the fire at the campground with friends and a glass of wine. (Sydney Somers)
9. Family vacation time (Erin Nicholas)
10. Bitching about the heat while cranking the A/C down to arctic range (Kinsey Holley) 
11. Enjoying the light that never ends here in Alaska!(Juniper Bell) 

    

    http://www.alaska.gov

12. Running outside instead of on my treadmill (Kelly Jamieson)
13. Wearing sandals 24/7 and showing off a cute new pedicure. (Skylar Kade)

Thursday 13: Favorite Summertime Activities, Part 1

Ok, so the first day of summer isn't until June 21, but we're already eager for it to get here! This is what we live for this season. In the comments, tell us your favorite summer activity!

1. Attending fairs and festivals. This past weekend we went to the Art and Wine Festival in Walnut Creek. Later this summer we're going to the Mid-state Fair in Paso Robles. (PG Forte)

   

   (photo from Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce)

2. Going to an island in Maine to see my family. (Juniper Bell)
3. Reading a book in the sun. Possibly by a pool or other body of water. (Kate Davies)
4. Traveling just about anywhere in Colorado, but Steamboat Springs (where we're going this weekend) in particular. (Meg Benjamin)
   
5. Going to the beach (Kelly Jamieson)
6. Taking the kids to the beach, where they can play and I can read. (Sydney Somers)
7. Baseball--especially watching my son (Erin Nicholas)
8. Swimming pools (Kinsey Holley)
9. Seeing all the Disneyland tourists--the people watching is unparalelled! (Skylar Kade)

   

   (Photographs by Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

10. Spending a couple of nights down the coast in a quaint B&B located in a vineyard. (PG Forte)
11. Sitting on my deck reading a book (Kelly Jamieson)
12. Eating loads of delicious barbecued food. (Sydney Somers)
13. Wearing flip flops or sandals wherever I go :) (Erin Nicholas)

I Mustache You A Question...

Last week, my coworker was out sick for several days. When he returned, he looked different - a little paler, perhaps, or he'd changed his glasses? I noticed that he'd cut himself shaving, but other than that, I couldn't figure it out.

It wasn't until someone else commented on his appearance that I realized the significance of the little cut above his lip.

He'd cut himself shaving.

His goatee was gone.

Now, I fully admit that I'm not always the most observant person. But not noticing his facial hair was no more? Pretty bad, even for me.

(Although my husband will sometimes tell people he's shaved his mustache when they ask why he looks different. He hasn't had a mustache since before we met. He might have worn his contacts instead of glasses that day, though.)

Coworker is starting to grow back his goatee already. And I, for one, am glad. How else am I supposed to recognize him? Erm, except for those times I don't even notice the facial hair - or lack thereof.

Your thoughts - beards? Goatees? Mustaches? Five o'clock shadow? Or no facial hair at all?

Welcome Mari Carr, Shelli Stevens, Harper Fox, Joely Sue Burkhart

June 11th is a fantastic day for romance at Samhain Publishing! 

For one, it's the release day for the first book in my new series! :) She's the One is book one in the Counting on Love series and I'm so excited for you to all meet Ryan and Amanda!

But even more, I get to share the day with four other fabulous authors... some of my personal favorites in fact!

Here's a little more about each one... and a big giveaway at the end!



Full Moon, Mari Carr

Sometimes it’s not just the tide that rises…

Second Chances, Book 2

In the two years since her divorce was finalized, Josie Jacobson’s life has become one long, boring routine. Work, home, repeat. She has her hands full as a single parent, and while she’s not looking for a serious relationship, she sure wouldn’t mind getting laid.

When her friend Zoey challenges her to make a New Year’s resolution for a second chance at happiness, Josie goes one better and creates the “Howl List”. Every full moon, she will indulge in a different sexual fantasy. Right at the top? Sex without strings. 

Fate leads her to the Blue Moon bar in January. After all, what better place to howl? And when she meets Jake Stewart, the sexy bartender, and engages in some red-hot sex with a stranger, her year seems to be off to a great start. 

At least, until Jake declares he wants all her full moons… 

Product Warnings

This is NOT the shifter story you are looking for. While the heroine howls during the full moon, she does it in naked, human form only. Sorry—no wolves, but there is a really sexy bartender and lots of red-hot fantasies.

BUY IT HERE!

Girl Gone Plaid, Shelli Stevens

Falling for the bad boy is even more dangerous the second time around.

The McLaughlins, Book 1

In high school Sarah fell for her best friend’s older brother—one of the sexy, Scottish McLaughlin boys. But a painful betrayal showed her she’d been a fool to give her heart to a bad boy. At least it made it easier to leave him and move halfway around the world when her Navy dad got stationed in Japan.

Eleven years later, the death of her grandmother has forced Sarah back to Whidbey Island for a month. It’s the length of time she must stay in her inherited house before she’s allowed to sell it, take the money and run. But when she sees Ian, bad as ever and still looking like sin on a stick, she can’t keep her mouth from watering.

One look at Sarah stirs up the regret lingering in Ian’s heart—and never-forgotten desire lingering in his body. He should walk away, especially since divorced single mothers aren’t his style. But when she starts showing up at his family’s pub, he can’t resist a little casual seduction for old time’s sake.

One thing quickly becomes clear, though. The heat between them is causing an avalanche of secrets and betrayal and nothing will ever be the same.

Product Warnings

A bad-boy hero who’s good with his hands, a heroine who’s trying to be good. Contains liberal consumption of Scotch whisky, a Highland Games competition, men in kilts wielding large poles, and a potential Sarah McLaughlin of the non-musical kind.

BUY IT HERE!

Brothers of the Wild North Sea, Harper Fox

His deadliest enemy will become his heart’s desire.

Caius doesn’t feel like much of a Christian. He loves his life of learning as a monk in the far-flung stronghold of Fara, but the hot warrior blood of his chieftain father flows in his veins. Heat soothed only in the arms of his sweet-natured friend and lover, Leof.

When Leof is killed during a Viking raid, Cai’s grieving heart thirsts for vengeance—and he has his chance with Fenrir, a wounded young Viking warrior left for dead. But instead of reaching for a weapon, Cai finds himself defying his abbot’s orders and using his healing skills to save Fen’s life.

At first, Fen repays Cai’s kindness by attacking every Christian within reach. But as time passes, Cai’s persistent goodness touches his heart. And Cai, who had thought he would never love again, feels the stirring of a profound new attraction.

Yet old loyalties call Fen back to his tribe and a relentless quest to find the ancient secret of Fara—a powerful talisman that could render the Vikings indestructible, and tear the two lovers’ bonds beyond healing. 

Product Warnings

Contains battles, bloodshed, explicit M/M sex, and the proper Latin term for what lies beneath those cassocks.

BUY IT HERE!

Her Grace's Stable, Joely Sue Burkhart

Silence is his only defense. But no truth escapes his lady’s whip.

A Jane Austen Space Opera, Book 2

Lady Violet Blackmyre, the daring “Black Duchess” of the Queen’s Light Dragoons, never thought she’d die a slow, miserable death. Yet only days after being named Field Marshal of the Britannian Army, she’s been diagnosed with consumption.

Giving Cole, her devoted stable hand and “pony”, his freedom is as easy as removing his collar. Convincing him to seek another mistress will be impossible should he learn of her condition. At all costs, she must spare him the pain of witnessing her demise.

Cole will not be pushed away so easily. When he stumbles across a magnificent “stallion” being abused at an illegal human auction, he is sure this wild, untamed brute is the challenge that will re-engage his mistress’s interest.

Arthur is desperate to return to the Iberian front, but betrayal and relentless torture have left him unable to trust himself with a weapon, much less lead soldiers into battle. What’s more, Lady Blackmyre’s dreadful secret is becoming more obvious by the day…and the scourge tearing at her lungs may not be natural at all.

Product Warnings

Ladies in positions of power and technological advances invented by the infamous Lady Doctor Wyre. A ménage a trois featuring a brute of a stallion, a mischievous pony, and the Mistress with the will (and the whip) to tame them both.

BUY IT HERE!

She's the One, Erin Nicholas

Sometimes you see love clearly. And sometimes it has to smack you in the face.

Counting on Love, Book 1

When a stranger walks up and punches him, Ryan Kaye assumes there’s a good reason. But he’s stunned to learn it’s over a one-night stand that never happened —with his friend’s sister, straight-laced Amanda Dixon. When Ryan confronts her about the lie, Amanda apologizes, but Ryan realizes he doesn’t want her to be sorry…he wants the night they supposedly spent together. 

Amanda’s not looking to add anyone to her long list of commitments, so she was only trying to let a nice guy down easy by telling him a fling with Ryan broke her heart. So what if the fling only happened in her dreams? But when Ryan Kaye tempts her with the chance to go crazy and fulfill a few fantasies, she can’t resist. Thank goodness one night isn’t enough time to fall in love…

Product Warnings

Contains a hot paramedic who knows how to get a girl to let her hair down, a girl who thinks she prefers her hair up, some naughty laser tag, some naughty role-playing and a lot of falling in love.

BUT IT HERE!

Click the image to be taken to our Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Lots of fun individual prizes AND a $50 gift certificate to 

Amazon or Barnes and Noble!

She's the One

Tomorrow I'm releasing a new book!  I'm always excited on release day, but I'm especially excited this time (though I say that a lot too :)) because this is the start of a new series for me!

Well, kind-of.

This series, Counting on Love, is a spin-off of my Bradford series and well, honestly, this was kind-of greedy of me.  I had so much fun with my Bradford guys and girls that I wasn't quite ready to let them go.

Here's how the two series are connected... for both of you who care :D

Conner Dixon is a paramedic at St. Anthony's hospital (fictional) in Omaha, Nebraska (not fictional).

One of his friends, Ryan Kaye, is on his crew.

The Bradford guys (well, four of the five) are paramedics at St. Anthony's too.  The fifth Bradford guy is a doctor at St. Anthony's.

So, they all know each other.  (In fact, Conner showed up in Just For Fun, Just A Kiss and Just What I Need, the epilogue)

The other three guys in the new series are a cop (Shane), a doctor (Nate) and a firefighter (Cody) so they all run into each other on scenes and have worked together on emergencies.

AND... the five guys in the new series also play football for the Omaha Hawks (an amateur league team-- the league and the team are also fictional.  Omaha, Nebraska is still real).

Confused yet?  No?

Okay, well the GIRLS in the new series are Conner's sisters.  Except, of course, for the heroine of HIS book.  That would be gross.  SHE (Gabby) is also a paramedic.

What?  You think that's not especially creative?  Maybe.  Or maybe it's really, really awesome.

I guess you'll have to read to see! :D


Anyway, that's all a little hard to follow.   You can figure it all out on my Counting On Love page on my website:   http://erinnicholas.com/countingonlove.html


Or you could read the free short story that bridges the two series, Just Count On Me (First published in five parts on my blog:  http://erinnicholas.blogspot.com/2013/06/just-count-on-me-part-one.html


OR, you could just read the Bradford books and then pick up She's the One now and follow along as Counting On Love continues in September, November, February (2014) and April (2014)!  :)

Sometimes you see love clearly.  And sometimes it has to smack you in the face.

Counting on Love, Book 1

When a stranger walks up and punches him, Ryan Kaye assumes there’s a good reason.  But he’s stunned to learn it’s over a one-night stand that never happened —with his friend’s sister, straight-laced Amanda Dixon.  When Ryan confronts her about the lie, Amanda apologizes, but Ryan realizes he doesn’t want her to be sorry…he wants the night they supposedly spent together. 

Amanda’s not looking to add anyone to her long list of commitments, so she was only trying to let a nice guy down easy by telling him a fling with Ryan broke her heart.  So what if the fling only happened in her dreams?  But when Ryan Kaye tempts her with the chance to go crazy and fulfill a few fantasies, she can’t resist.  Thank goodness one night isn’t enough time to fall in love…

Warning: Contains a hot paramedic who knows how to get a girl to let her hair down, a girl who thinks she prefers her hair up, some naughty laser tag, some naughty role-playing and a lot of falling in love.

Excerpt:

Ryan signaled Carrie, the waitress. “Two of whatever each of the ladies want,” he said, pointing to Emma, Isabelle and Olivia. He looked at the girls. “Stay here and mind your own business. Or at least mind someone’s business other than mine and Amanda’s.”

Emma grinned. “You and Amanda have business in common?”

He looked down at the woman beside him. He still held on to her elbow and he became aware that she smelled really, really good. Yes, it appeared that he and Amanda had business in common. How interesting. “Just stay here,” he finally said to Emma.

He tugged Amanda through the crowd to the corner near the back door. It wasn’t exactly private, but it would work for a few minutes. That was all he would have, he was sure, before Conner realized one of his friends had one of his sisters off in a dark corner alone.

“Yes, I talked to Tim Winters,” Ryan said when they were as alone as they were going to get. 

“Right after he clocked me and knocked me on my ass.”

Amanda gasped. “He hit you?”

“Yeah, because I slept with you.”

“I… Oh… Um…”

Ryan fought a smile. “But it’s weird. That really seems like something I’d remember.”

She rolled her eyes. “We all probably blend together after awhile.” She said it quietly, more of a mutter really, but he heard it.

“What’s that mean?” he demanded. He put a finger under her chin and tipped her head so she had to look at him. “Amanda, what does that mean?”

She shrugged and pulled her chin away from his touch. “It means that it’s got to be difficult keeping track of everyone in and out of your bed without making them all wear name tags.”

He grinned. He couldn’t help it. She was sassy too. He liked that. And liked even more that it didn’t show all the time. Emma was pretty much what-you-see-is-what-you-get. He liked knowing that there might be layers to Amanda Dixon to discover.

“Where would they pin the name tags?” he couldn’t resist asking.

For just a moment, Amanda seemed surprised. Then she smiled. “You’ll have to get the adhesive ones, I guess.”

“Might cover up something I need to see.”

“You could try only dating women named Jennifer or something.”

He smiled. “But then Tim Winters wouldn’t believe whatever you told him about you and me.”

Amanda pressed her lips together. Then said, “I’m really sorry he hit you.”

“I’ll live. What I want to know is why he did it.”

“I thought he…told you.”

She actually blushed and Ryan wondered if he could remember the last time he’d seen a woman blush. Not off the top of his head.

“I want to hear it from you.”

She looked at the collar of his shirt instead of his eyes. “I told him I had a one-night stand with someone and had feelings for him.”

“Me.”

“Yes.”

Buy it here!

Congratulations Erin Nicholas!

Congrats to Erin on her upcoming release She's the One, from Samhain Publishing, June 11th!

Counting on Love, Book 1

Sometimes you see love clearly.  And sometimes it has to smack you in the face.

When a stranger walks up and punches him, Ryan Kaye assumes there’s a good reason.  But he’s stunned to learn it’s over a one-night stand that never happened —with his friend’s sister, straight-laced Amanda Dixon.  When Ryan confronts her about the lie, Amanda apologizes, but Ryan realizes he doesn’t want her to be sorry…he wants the night they supposedly spent together. 

Amanda’s not looking to add anyone to her long list of commitments, so she was only trying to let a nice guy down easy by telling him a fling with Ryan broke her heart.  So what if the fling only happened in her dreams?  But when Ryan Kaye tempts her with the chance to go crazy and fulfill a few fantasies, she can’t resist.  Thank goodness one night isn’t enough time to fall in love…

Warning: Contains a hot paramedic who knows how to get a girl to let her hair down, a girl who thinks she prefers her hair up, some naughty laser tag, some naughty role-playing and a lot of falling in love.

Pre-order it here!