COVER REVEAL!!!
GREETINGS, FRIENDS!!! It’s that magical time of year where I wear sweaters, even when the temperature is only in the 70’s; popcorn and hot cocoa mix are stored in the cupboard religiously, and sentimentality rules the house with every decoration that gets put up. At this point, my kids don’t even eyeroll anymore. They know that when I pull out that art project they made in kindergarten or first or second, etc., I have to tearfully hug them close because I still see them as those adorable five-year-olds even though they are now twenty. They are identical twin boys. My biggest achievement? I accomplished the impossible. It only took 22 years of marriage, but my husband can be called a holiday movie addict who now loves Christmas. It’s his crack during this time of year, particularly the ones that have Santa magic in them. The big, bad biologist, the scientist that relies on data points, looks for Santa magic in his Hallmark Christmas movies. Isn’t that adorable? For that reason, new Hallmark movies are lovingly DVR’ed so as not to miss favorite ones. And yes, there are favorite ones. Some final BIG NEWS.…drumroll please…I HAVE A COVER REVEAL! KEEP SCROLLING TO SEE IT! Coming out December 29th is DIAMONDS ON THE WATER, Hermosa Beach Memoirs, #3. I’m so excited because this last year was one of the hardest I’ve lived through in my life. I don’t say that lightly. I wasn’t sure I’d get this book finished, and yet, here it is. I wish you all a restful holiday season, and part of that rest might include a new book boyfriend named Magnus. See for yourself! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! All my best, Danube Adele DIAMONDS ON THE WATER He thinks she’s a brat… she thinks he’s a bosshole. I hate Magnus Johanson. He’s a rude, grumpy, boss-tyrant who’s never satisfied with anything I do at the bar Yes, he’s got big, delicious muscles that I would normally want to squeeze like I was testing fruit at the grocery store. Fine, his arm tattoos are hot and make me wonder what else he’s got going on under the T-shirt that’s stretched taught across his pecs. And, whatever. His sharp, gray eyes are sexy, particularly on the rare occasion they’ve turned smokey and tracked me across the bar. Doesn’t channge anything. He still sees me as who I was and not who I am. So why do I fantasize about climbing his big, sexy body?Bethany Roman is the perfect poster child of spoiled entitlement. Princess. Diva. And capable of pissing me off like no other.I may have noticed that she has warm, rich, chocolate doe-eyes that sometimes hint at a deep vulnerability when I catch her off-guard. And for some reason, when she gets ticked and goes toe-to-toe with me, it makes me hard, so I piss her off at every opportunity. Of course, I’ve noticed she’s got a body that would rock a swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated. But she’s only ever cared about herself, and I want no part of that.Except I can’t ignore this driving need to claim her. Make her mine. PREORDER ON AMAZON! Specific links below: US UK AU CA ...
Read MoreWhere brooding alpha males meet their match…
Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting The best workouts I have ever had in my entire life were the ones I endured for kick boxing and Muay Thai classes in my early twenties. Absolutely fantastic. They were the most fun, the most demanding, and gave me the best physical results I have ever had in my life from exercise as an adult. The unexpected benefit? A sense of badass confidence when walking down the street. This was the feeling I wanted my character Cecilia “Ceci” Bradford to have in Dreams of a Wild Heart. There was no mercy. There was no pity. There was no empathy or sympathy from my instructors. From the moment I began taking these classes, I was perpetually sore. Push-ups (and not the girl kind because they weren’t allowed) were a challenge, where I could maybe do one or two full and complete ones to begin with. Burning muscles accompanied my every step forward, my every reach. Who knew you needed shoulder muscles to keep your hands up in a fighting stance? I never sweat so hard or slept so well on a daily basis, and before long, I began noticing changes. I could do more push-ups. Good ones. Strong ones. Then, my legs didn’t burn so much, they started feeling like I was walking on springs. And when I did a roundhouse kick to the heavy bag, it made a great, satisfying, cracking sound that echoed in the gym. Another great result? I could jump rope like a pro, looking all Rocky Balboa-like. The extra few pounds I’d carried for most of my life, not a lot but enough to give a friendly jiggle, just melted away almost visibly, day-by-day until one day I looked in the mirror and saw that I had a faint six pack where my stomach used to be. Okay, and this is wrong of me, I know, but there was a part of me as I walked down the street that silently dared anyone to try and f*ck with me, not that I really wanted anyone to attack me. More than anything, this is just evidence that I walked with more confidence, and from what I’ve been told, most attackers look for someone who has more of a meek, uncertain mannerism. A funny side note: My husband and my first date was to a muay thai fight. In Dreams of a Wild Heart, Ceci worked her *ss off to finish school early, work as a trauma ward physician and immerse herself with anything that would keep her from remembering the tragedy of her past, and one of those activities was mixed martial arts. Her best friend since birth, she and Carlos were inseparable, even moving on to more than just friends as they got into high school, but he was killed when she was just seventeen, leaving her with a yawning emptiness. She filled it with work, study, hobbies, doing everything to keep herself from having to think until Tabron, a dark, brooding soldier, brings a spark back to her life, though he’s got secrets that are from out of this world. Literally. A few of my favorite scenes in Dreams of a Wild Heart are action scenes and include Ceci using her mixed martial arts skills, kickboxing and jujitsu. I wanted her be a strong, confident, I’ll-do-it-myself kind of heroine, and she surprises the Braussian warriors on the planet Te`re by defending herself with modern moves when they’re a dying culture stuck in what we would call the Middle Ages. She doesn’t wait to be rescued. She doesn’t...
Read MoreLet’s Get Personal! Totally Random Facts
TOTALLY RANDOM FACTS I was tagged with the task of reporting on 14 random things about myself, and thought, “Ah-ha! This could be a fun blog post.” I will share 14 random things about myself, and I extend the challenge for you to share at least one or two about yourself, if not five? We may even have randomness-es in common! Hmmmm. I love, love, love when I have a full tank of gas. It makes me want to jump on the hood of my car and shout “Freedom!” When I see big, open fields of grass, I just want to do a tumbling pass – reminds me of my youth as a gymnast. It drives me nuts to see kids driving and texting at the same time. They’re weaving all over the road trying to drive without hands or eyes. Grrrr. Can I call their moms? I’ve always loved trying new things, which is how I got into snowboarding, kickboxing, SCUBA diving and swing dancing. When I was in the 6th grade, I had a huge crush on Ricky Shroeder. I actually wrote a letter and mailed it to his fan club. It is the one and only time I ever mailed a fan letter. Never heard back. I holler at the squirrels in my plum tree during the summer time – yes, I actually do – and lob the ruined plums they have so carelessly discarded right back at them. It doesn’t help. They keep ruining the plums so we don’t get any, but it makes me feel better. Besides, none of my “lobs” ever make contact. It makes me wonder what kind of an old lady I’m going to make, though. When I shower and dry off, my OCD-ness kicks in. I have to follow a particular order of operations or I totally throw myself off and forget to wash my hair or something like that. I have coined the phrase “Efficiency of motion”, which is simply more evidence of my OCD-ness. It’s my personal challenge to use only productive motion, no wasted motion, when needing to accomplish something quickly. Before I move, I think through what needs to be accomplished, consider each and every motion, prioritize for maximum efficiency, and go. Scary, right? Oftentimes, I have the strongest desire to go room by room and really straighten and clean, but then I get over it and just do my usual cleaning. Maybe one day… There are some movies I could watch over and over again (Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow, Jurassic Park) – I’m not proud. I had less fear as a child and tried many things that cost my parents aggravation, worry and medical bills – back flip off the end of my bed (just barely pulled it around), handstands on the fireplace (stitches in my forehead), a Chinese split leap over construction materials, glass tiles, and didn’t pull it off so well (sixteen stitches up the side of my leg), an accident on the balance beam (stress fracture to a vertebrae), and many other things that just hurt, period. Whew. And I managed to live through childhood. I crave chili cheese fries from Top’s Junior, but I know that if I go buy some, my stomach will burn for the rest of the day. I used to pretend I was doing my work in class (high school) but I was usually writing a story in my notebook. I love watching really bad reality TV clips on The Soup. What about you? What are some of your quirks? Leave a comment! ***As a side...
Read MoreLet’s Get Personal! “Cray-Cray” Moments in Time
“Cray-Cray” Moments in Time Have you ever had one of those holy sh*t, no effin’ way, I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening kind of moments that’s forever etched in your memory as something that you will never forget? That’s what we’re talking about here, and I’m about to share a crazy moment in time. I’d love to hear one of yours. We got an up close and personal porn show!!!! I’m going to tell you this story, and I know some people might not believe this, but I swear that this whole thing is 100% true. Okay, picture this: Honeymoon a few years back with my hubby. Out on a secluded beach rumored to be nude friendly and shielded by an acacia forest with low-lying scrub and branches that suddenly give way to sand and ocean. Did we go naked? No. Wish I could say I did. Sadly, I was still too shy and innocent at that point (smirk). After playing in the water for a bit, we went back up to our blanket to rest, somewhat shielded by the greenery. Here’s where it gets OMG. We were resting and maybe getting a little playful (exaggerated wink), when I notice my hubby’s eyes looking over my shoulder (I’m lying on my side facing him). He seems watchful. His eyes sort of go round. I ask him, “What?” Barely moving his lips, he says, “She’s starting to give him a blow job.” At that point, I realize he’s talking about a couple who’d found their own stretch of secluded beach not too far from us. “No way. Really?” I start to turn my head. “Don’t look!” he whispers quietly. “Well, what are they doing?” He gave me a blow-by-blow description, pun intended, of how the woman was watching my hubby watch her give her partner oral sex. It was like she wanted to be watched while she did it! Hearing the details from my hubby’s deep voice as he whispered in my ear worked its own brand of magic, and we soon ran off to our hotel room. Share! Share! Share! Entertain us with a crazy...
Read MoreLet’s Get Personal! Fantastic First Meets
Let’s have some fun with this. Every month, I’ll have a different random, innocuous question that I’d love to ask as well as answer, and I invite all to participate in the conversation. It’s always a kick to hear about others’ experiences, and I hope to meet some of you out there with a story to share. This month’s theme: Fantastic First Meets: Who has a great story to tell about how they met their partner? Was it serendipitous? Quirky? Romantic? Sizzling hot? Maybe it’s something that overlaps a number of different categories. The reason this particular theme comes to mind is because this month, I celebrate my 13th wedding anniversary with the most amazing partner anyone could ever have. Here’s my story: Seriously, it was fated. I saw this man many places before I actually, officially met him. It all started when a good friend convinced me to join a particular gym. It was a great kickboxing/muay thai/boxing gym, and I went nearly every day, which was partly the inspiration for my badass female character Taylor in Quicksilver Dreams. I was in the most amazing shape of my life. (You have this kind of time when you’re single, right?) One day, I was on a treadmill warming up, waiting for my muay thai class to start when I looked up and over to the guy on the treadmill next to mine. A tall, hot guy was getting on it, but…truly… I didn’t think anything of it. I was there for a serious workout, you know? And so was he. He had ear buds in, and barely spared me a glance before he was on the machine going at a serious pace. This was all, and I went on to finish my time on the cardio machine before joining the muay thai class that was starting. A week later, I was out with afore-mentioned good friend again. This time, we’d just parked in a parking garage in Pasadena, ready for a night out on the town. As we got out of our car, I saw the guy again. He was walking toward the elevator with another woman, and I still didn’t show much interest other than to say casually to my friend, “That guy goes to our gym.” I jokingly referred to him as the “treadmill guy”. Okay, fast forward a few months and you’ll find me on my college campus taking some graduate level classes. As I was walking down a particular hallway, I see him again. This time, he’s dressed in casual clothes, and is pushing a cart containing an overhead projector and an assortment of teaching materials. I was finding humor in that I’d seen this guy in so many places, and grinned at him. I sort of paused and stared at him as he walked by, likely giving him the impression that I knew him. He gave me a smile and cocked a finger at me in a friendly shootout and kept walking. Here’s the final jump in time which puts me a few quarters ahead in terms of the school calendar, nearly to the end of my academic program. There was a class I’d been avoiding, a science class. I had always been into literature and writing and cringed with the knowledge that I had to take this class. In spite of being a mature, graduate student, I was still suffering PTSD from my high school science classes and was not looking forward to taking this class. A friend who was going through the academic program with me pointed out a particular section of the class in...
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