The Morgan Diaries

Finding the Irresistibly Sweet Side of Romance

2012-01-25T18:45:00.017-06:00

Sutton Fox of the Fox Tales blog has awarded The Morgan Diaries the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award!

Here are The Rules:

1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.

2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

3. Pass the Award on to 10 deserving blog buddies.

4. Contact those buddies and let them know.

So first of all thank you, Sutton Fox! And you can find the fabulous Sutton and her books HERE at her website.

Seven random facts about The Morgan Diaries:

1. This blog started because J. Morgan and Morgan O'Reilly each needed a support system to do blogging. Well, that and we both have Morgan in our name. And we're really [cute] [smart] [funny] [sexy] [brilliant] together.

2. What's better than fun and comedy mixed with Romance? Doesn't matter if it's contemporary, futuristic or paranormal, we love funny love.

3. Anne McCaffrey will forever reign as the queen of Sci-Fi. Nuff said.

4. Jmo (J. Morgan) hails from Louisiana, as does MorganO, but she got transplanted to the frozen North (Alaska). We're married, but to other people.

5. He once played football. She likes watching football purely for the opportunity to watch physically beautiful men do athletic things in tight pants.

6. If you’d like a review, we can do those too. Or ask about hijacking our blog for a day or five.

7. Give Jmo an Oreo and he'll do almost anything for you. Honest!

Now for the fun part! I get to nominate ten of my friends! So here are a few of my favorites!

1. Boone Brux

2. Juniper Bell

3. Tam Linsey

4. Diana Castilleja

5. Lynne Connolly

6. Stephanie Burkhart

7. Gail Delaney

8. Melanie Atkins

9. Char Chaffin

10. A.R. Norris

So now I have to contact everyone and let them know! Congratulations and enjoy!

Having Some Fun!

2012-01-25T06:18:00.000-06:00

Okay, maybe it's not so exciting for you, although it should be, what with a free read and all...

If you look to the right, you'll see a new section entitled PAGES.

Under that deceptively discreet header, you'll see something new! Pages dedicated to organizing our books with handy links that will take you right to them.

Or, you may do a Google Search and come up with pretty much the same information.

The lists are not yet complete -- Jmo needs to get a few more links to this most conscientious of webmistresses (She Who Carries the Whip While Fumbling Around the Site) -- but you will find an excerpt and a link to our first co-authored free read, The Morgan Diaries: Volume I. Yeah, there's another link right there in a handy dandy easily accessed location.

You're welcome.

You'll note it goes back a few *cough* years, but it was something we did for fun, although this author wonders why she was put in charge of keeping it on track. Hmmm.

Someday we plan on doing it again. Another subject, possibly the ravening Viking hoard, or explorers who stumble on the remains of an Atlantean city, or the cabana boys of Puerto Vallarta. Whatever it is, we can only hope Jmo has the energy and focus to be the spearhead of the next project. Come to think of it, that's probably why Volume II is not yet beyond the dreaming stage. He keeps mumbling the word "deadline" at me.

As always, we welcome comments, questions, or just simple lovin' hugs. Got an opinion on Romance books? State it respectfully and we'll engage in some good conversation. Want to know more about what we read? Why we write what we do? Authors we look up to? Be sure to leave us a note below in the Comments section.

Looking forward to a powerful Year of the Dragon!

Guest Blogger - Tom Mach

2012-01-09T00:47:00.008-06:00

As part of our new relationship with Goddess Fish Promotions, today we're hosting author Tom Mach on a stop of his Virtual Book Tour for his book Stories to Enjoy. I read the stories, enjoyed them, but as a romance reader I had one huge question. Why no HEA? So I asked Tom to blog about it.

Why No “Happily Ever After” in My Stories

Probably the question as to why I don’t have any “happily ever after” endings applies more to my novels than to my short stories. None of my short stories which appear in my collection entitled Stories To Enjoy have happy endings—nor should a reader expect them. Even a master short story writer like O. Henry typically did not wrap up his stories in a nice neat package. A short story is really a snapshot of life, describing a particular incident that may present a problem or challenge to one or more characters. While that one particular problem might be resolved, the reader is not told what happens after that. For instance, in “Breakfast Over Easy”, one of my stories in Stories to Enjoy, the main character named Chuck finds his friend Larry is not meeting with for breakfast as he had done every Monday in the past. But Chuck learns from Larry’s fiancée that Chuck is dying of cancer and that Larry’s gorgeous fiancée wants to make out with Chuck This is a problem that he has to face, leaving it up to the reader to guess what might happen next. Other short stories, such as O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi” show a resolution to one particular event (i.e., The husband gives his wife an expensive set of combs while his wife sells her hair so she could buy him a watch). However, there’s no “happily ever after” description here either. Who knows what happened the following year? Maybe the husband meets a girl who has beautiful hair.

When it comes to novels, romance fiction generally resolves an issue concerning a man and a woman. Perhaps they are initially attracted to each other, but something happens to cause a wedge between them. But later the problem is resolved; they fall in love, and perhaps get married. My concern with soap-opera-ish stories like that is that it isn’t realistic and certainly not believable. There doesn’t have to be a “happy” ending with all the ends tied up in a fancy knot. In my novel All Parts Together, for example, Jessica, my 19^th century protagonist, is devastated to learn about Lincoln’s assassination, which destroys her hopes for freedom of former black slaves. But near the end of that novel there is a knock on her hotel door. It’s a woman named Elizabeth Cady Stanton and she wants to know if Jessica will join her to discuss a matter of utmost importance to the emancipation of women. So for Jessica, there’s hope. And as long as there is hope, there’s a great story—just like there was when Rhett abandoned Scarlett O’Hara…There’s always tomorrow.

Blurb:

This unique collection of 16 short stories written by prize-winner Tom Mach includes stories such as "Real Characters," which is about a writer who gets his wish--that his characters come alive.... "Breakfast, Over Easy" makes you wonder about loyalty in the face of temptation.... "When Kansas Women Were Not Free" takes you to a time when women were less free than former males slaves.... "Son" make you think differently about compassion. One novelist describes STORIES TO ENJOY as "memorable and intriguing, with O. Henry twists that are sure to surprise and entertain."

Excerpt:

She leaned forward and her eyes searched my face. “How about joining me for breakfast?” she asked.

“Okay,” I said quietly. We talked for the next hour. As I told her about my having been a Hollywood writer for five years, with important contacts such as director Ron Howard or actors like Kate Winslet or Bruce Willis, her face brightened. I wanted to learn more about her, but she never gave me the chance.

Before we parted company at the entrance door, she brushed herself against me and widened her smile. “I can make it here every Monday morning from now on if you’d like. It’d be just you and me. What do you say?”

I looked back at the empty table and stared at it for a long while. Then I returned my gaze to her. Damn, she was pretty.

“What do you say?” she asked again, this time with a hint of desperation in her voice.

Bio:

Tom Mach wrote two successful historical novels, Sissy! and All Parts Together, both of which have won rave reviews and were listed among the 150 best Kansas books in 2011.Sissy! won the J. Donald Coffin Memorial Book Award while All Parts Together was a viable entrant for the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Award. He also wrote a collection of short stories entitled Stories To Enjoy which received positive reviews. Tom’s other novels include: An Innocent Murdered, Advent, and Homer the Roamer.

His poetry collection, The Uni Verse, won the Nelson Poetry Book Award. In addition to several awards for his poetry, Writer’s Digest awarded him ninth place in a field of 3,000 entrants. His website is:www.TomMach.com He also has a popular blog for writers of both prose and verse at http://tommach.tumblr.com

You may also find Tom at the following links:

http://twitter.com/kansasauthor

http://www.facebook.com/kansasauthor

http://www.linkedin.com/in/tommach

http://tommach.tumblr.com

A big thanks to Tom for stopping by today. Please drop off a comment or question for our guest to let us know you were awake this lovely Monday in January. MorganO is still digging out from the weekend's snow storm that dumped nearly a foot on her freshly shoveled driveway. The shoveler is not pleased. We just hope winter does its worst before he goes back to college...

It's a Whole New Year!

2012-01-01T19:52:00.003-06:00

Like this is news that the new year is here, but all the same...Happy New Year to one and all, from us here at the Morgan Diaries. So what have MorganO and Jmo been up to this holiday season? Spending too much, eating too much and sleeping too much, like the rest of you guys. But, all that's over with now. We have a brand new year to make promises that by February we will have completely forgotten about and had no intention of keeping in any case. Like we'd actually go on diets. Yeah, right.

But seriously, first of all, we vow to host more writers on our blog. Starting with a few virtual book tours organized by Goddess Fish. Dates booked so far:

Jan 9 Stories to Remember by Tom Mach

Jan 24 Fallenwood a fantasy novel by Leslie Soule (On Shea’s blog)

Feb 6 Courage to Live by Morgan O’Reilly

Feb 23 The World Among Us: Prince of Darkness by Beth Ann Marsarik

Feb 28 The Rancher and the Rock Star by Lizbeth Selvig, her debut with Avon Impulse

Want to join the fun? Contact us and we’ll find a date to fit you in. Unless you have a specific date that’s critical, Wednesday and Thursday are good days for us to host friends.

In individual news, Jmo has two books coming your way this year from Desert Breeze. The first is the second series of his Vampire books, Bite Marks Book One: Bite the One You're With. It will kick off a few months after Love Bites Book Five. His Vampires and Slayers are in the middle of a war with the Fallen. It's up to Stalking Shadow, son of Waterfall Woman, to protect Savannah's sister, Megan as the Fallen targets the families of the characters from the first series for death. It's going to be a nonstop thrill ride with all the comedy and adventure you've come to expect from these books.

Second up is Immortally Damned, the story of Caern from Immortally Yours. Our resident half-vampire is up to his neck in trouble as his past comes slamming home to draw him back into the world he'd fought to escape.

Lastly for Jmo, he’s started a side blog with some other friends named The Writer Limits. It will be your one stop, well stop, for everything SciFi, Fantasy and the Paranormal. So get ready for a double dose of Jmo in the coming year.

Morgan’s news includes a scheduled release February 6. Book Two of the Open Window Series is Courage to Live. If you read book one, Til Death Undo Us, then you were introduced to AF pilot Cayden Shaughnessy. This is his story and is set in Alaska. Book three of the series, Weathering the Storm is in the final stages of the first draft and is currently scheduled for a September release.

Courage to Live will initially release under Kindle’s Select program. What that means is it will be exclusive to Kindle for 90 days, the first 5 of which it will be FREE. This is fabulous news for those of you who fell in love with Til Death Undo Us. If you don’t own a Kindle, don’t fret! You can download Kindle for PC, or an app for many smartphones, totally for free and read from your computer or phone. Works great! After the first 90 days the book will be available on Nook, Sony and at other fine ebook retailers.

That's it for now, but stay tuned because we plan to rock you 2012 like a Mayan banging on a calendar.

Jingle Bell Hop Tote Bag Winner!

2011-12-12T07:16:00.004-06:00

First of all, let me thank each and every one of you who joined the hop. Whether you commented or not, I'm so glad you stopped in and hope had as much fun as I did. Your very kind comments have warmed me through and through up here in the north where the wind is blowing and the snow is falling.

Now, for our winner. Selected by random drawing, the winner of the Morgan O'Reilly tote bag is...

YADKNY!!

I've sent our winner an email, but just in case we miss, please contact me at: morgan (at) morganqoreilly (dot) com.

Again, thank you so much for playing along! We'll be back with more blog hops in the coming year.

Morgan Q. O'Reilly

http://morganqoreilly.com

Come play with Morgan and Get Some Tonight!

Jingle Bell Hop! On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

2011-12-08T23:00:00.006-06:00

Welcome to the Fifth Day of Christmas part of the Jingle Bell Blog Hop. Click here to find all the details and the correct order in which to Hop. OH! and don't forget to leave a comment so you can win goodies! I have a flirty Morgan Tote Bag to give away to one lucky commenter ;)

I had so much fun writing this, three more stories popped out! So here is a teaser to fulfill the Five Gold Rings portion of the hop, and then a link below to get the rest of the collection for only 99 cents.

WARNING

The excerpt below contains Erotic Content.

If this is not your thing, or you are under 18 years of age,

please move on to the next Blog Stop.

Five Gold Rings

by Morgan Q. O'Reilly

“I have no gift to bring, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum,” the Christmas carol played in the background as Terri wrapped gifts on the living room floor.

Caught up in the spirit, she pa-rum-pum-pum-pumed right along with the recording pouring from the surround sound speakers. “I played my best for him…”

Behind her the door of her tiny condo opened and a blast of cold from the hallway rushed in with Victor. It was cut off when he shut the door.

Quickly she put a last piece of tape on the paper covering her big gift to her lover. “Just in time, sweetheart.” Peel and stick, and the big bow she’d bought topped the box. “I just finished.”

Silence greeted her along with the still slightly chill air. Victor wasn’t big on words, but she knew he was there, standing by the door.

“I’m almost ready for the party. Took my bath and already did my hair and makeup. Just have to slip on my dress, shoes and jewelry and I’m ready to go. Won’t take me a minute to clean up here and finish dressing.” She rose to her feet and straightened her silk robe, the one he’d given her for Christmas last year. Deep ivy green, it barely covered her butt when she stood. Turning to face the entrance, she didn’t have to paste a smile on her face. Victor Maitland was the love of her life and he treated her so well it was impossible not to smile when he was around.

As she expected, Victor stood just inside the door, impeccably dressed in a tux with black tie under the long black wool coat he wore against the bitter cold winter waiting outside.

She took a long moment to drink in his appearance. Beyond the elegant clothes, the man himself was refined, yet falling just short of perfectly polished. It wasn’t apparent in his clothes, or his precision cut hair. Body and face were the result of centuries of perfect genetic blending. His hair was hair black, eyes intensely blue. Ah, his eyes. That’s where his image fell short of respectable. His eyes burned like blue flames and showed a hint of the devil inside. Her devil. If they’d lived a hundred years earlier, he’d be the rake all the society mamas twittered about, on the one hand warning their daughters away while on the other hand wondering just how thrilling it would be to get him into their beds for a night or three.

Tonight the flame was no less bright in his eyes as he scanned her from head to toe. By his smile, the slightly crooked, devilish one, she knew he approved her preparations so far. She’d swept her long blonde hair up with a few tendrils left to look enticingly escaped. A day at the spa had left her freshly waxed, perfectly smooth all over, her finger and toenails painted a wanton cherry red. Makeup artfully applied played up her cheekbones and made her round brown eyes look bigger. The dress she’d picked out, covered in a pattern of green sequins of all shades, emphasized her Marilyn Monroe figure the way he loved best. But then, so did the skimpy robe she wore now. Or didn’t, as the case may be, she thought when she felt the slippery belt give way and the robe gaped open.

“Hello,” she said, suddenly feeling shy under his intense scrutiny.

“Terriana.”

He didn’t need to say more. In his soft voice, the command was there.

With a shrug of her shoulders the silk slid to the floor. Arms folded behind her back thrust her breasts forward where he couldn’t miss the stainless steel rings. Standing with her legs slightly spread, she knew he could see the two labia rings and the one through her clit hood. The last six weeks had been long as she healed from the new decorations. Her gift of love to Victor. He hadn’t specifically insisted she get the piercings, and certainly not all at once, but he’d made a point of admiring the adornments. For his birthday she’d asked him to take her to the piercing salon. There, under the supervision of the salon operator, Victor himself had pierced her. And then cared for her, making sure the wounds remained infection free.

The pain had been worth it, she decided. The look in Victor’s eyes made every bit of it worthwhile. She wouldn’t recommend doing all five at once to anyone considering it, but at least the pain was done and over with. She couldn’t think of anything else she’d have pierced. Three holes in each ear, plus her five body piercings, were plenty.

“Finish dressing. The party starts soon and I don’t want to be late.”

“Yes, Victor. Will you help me?”

The heat in his eyes flared, and his smile deepened. But he shook his head. “I’ll wait here. Be quick.”

He had plans. Something wonderful. He loved to tease her, build up her anticipation, never failing to amaze her with his creativity.

Well, he wasn’t the only one who loved to tease. Turning, she bent over to retrieve her fallen robe, giving him a view from another angle. Upside down she peeked and saw his gaze firmly directed between her legs. The same view he got when he bent her over the arm of the sofa and attached a chain to the labia rings, running it over her lower back to hold her open to him. He’d presented the sterling silver chain a week ago, their first test of her piercings down there. A grand success, he’d declared and told her his plans for playing with her new jewelry and the ways he could torment her with intense pleasure.

“Don’t tease or there’ll be an extra paddling for you.”

Instead of scaring her, the threat titillated. “And if I want the extra paddling?”

“I might withhold it. Get moving.”

“Fa-la-la-la-la-la-lah…” she sang with the stereo on the way to her room.

There she quickly pulled on the dress, a few lengths of swishy chiffon, weighted down with just enough sequins to keep the layers in place to adequately cover her, but a strong breeze would sweep aside the skirt panels and show off her lower body. The top plunged to the waist front and back. Victor could sweep the panels aside and expose her completely if he so chose.

And she hoped he would. At least in the car to and from the party. They’d made love in the back of the limousine plenty of times. Nearly every time they hired the service to transport them to and from the various functions his business demanded he attend. The sex relaxed them both before joining the tycoons and their ice cold wives. It enhanced Victor’s devil may care attitude that set him aside as a maverick in the old blue blood society.

She looked in the mirror one more time as she put on the last earring, a hoop with a diamond stud. The other holes held diamond studs in graduated sizes, also gifts from Victor. She never bought jewelry for herself, Victor wouldn’t hear of it. If she wanted it, he bought it. The jewelry box on her dresser held a fortune in gold, platinum and precious stones.

Around her neck she placed the gold and diamond heart necklace he’d given her for Valentine’s day. On her wrist the emerald and diamond bracelet for her birthday. Each piece reminded her of the lavish lovemaking that had accompanied the occasion. He didn’t always give her expensive jewelry, but he did love to see her dressed in nothing else. Now that she had the body piercings she wondered what clever ideas he had swirling around his imagination.

Last, she buckled on delicate heels with straps around her ankles. As cold as it was outside, she was grateful they had a warm car waiting. One last check in the mirror and she smiled in satisfaction. Victor would find nothing out of place. She grabbed her clutch and hurried to where she found him waiting with her hooded cashmere cape in hand.

“Beautiful.” The few words he did use conveyed his feelings perfectly. “Show me.”

As he insisted her clothes provide him ease of access, she demonstrated how the dress could be adjusted to display or hide her body.

“Perfect. Get a half dozen more like this in all the colors you like best.” He whipped the cloak around her shoulders then tugged on one nipple ring before covering it with the cloak. “Don’t cover yourself with the dress until I tell you.”

“Yes, Victor.”

The trip down to the car was swift and before the cold had a chance to settle in, Victor had her tucked into the warm car, cocooned in their own world, separated from the driver by the privacy screen. Soft Christmas music drifted from the speakers.

The car pulled away from the curb and Victor patted his lap. “Come here.”

Knowing his preference, and hers too, she held her cloak closed as she rose up on her knees and straddled his legs.

“Feeling cold?” he smiled and reached for her cloak.

Throat dry with anticipation, she shook her head.

Victor pulled her cloak open and gazed at her exposed breasts. Already puckered, her nipples tightened more under his observation. “So beautiful, but something’s not quite right.”

“What?”

“Stop frowning.” He smoothed the frown from her brow with one thumb. “Kiss me instead.”

Immediately her smile returned. An order she loved, she placed her hands on his wide shoulders for balance and leaned forward to touch his lips with hers. Victor’s hands skimmed her torso, stopping only briefly to hold her breasts and tease her nipples. He’d been holding off playing with her new rings, letting her heal, but now he tested and she moaned into his mouth. His kiss, always able to heat her to molten lava, combined with the new nipple stimulation took her to new heights. The sensitivity… it was beyond what she’d ever imagined. She wanted him in her, now.

His moan matched hers as he took his hands away from her breasts and moved down her body to still her hips. “Soon,” he murmured against her lips. “But first…”

His hands parted the panels of her skirt. The warm air of the car brushed against her sensitized skin and her clit throbbed against the ball of the piercing resting over it. Victor found it and played with it, sending her temperature higher.

“Please,” she begged, her inner muscles clenching in a need so strong she trembled.

“Soon,” he promised. “I do like this dress.”

A giggle bubbled up and she let it escape. Of all the times to admire her dress… then again, it was designed exactly for this moment.

“I have a gift for you,” he said.

“I know, I feel it. I want it.”

Victor chuckled. “Yes, you’ll get that one too. You own that one, have since the day we met.”

Terry pulled back enough to look into his eyes, remembering the night they’d met at one of the interminable parties her parents insisted she attend on behalf of their favorite charities. It was a good cause, and she loved raising money for it, but did it have to be done at rubber chicken dinners over stifling small talk? Victor had saved her that night, and every night since.

“Now hold still,” he said while reaching into his breast pocket. “Close your eyes.”

She gave a huff to demonstrate her frustration, but did as told. Victor never gave orders like that unless something wonderful was about to happen. They were perfect together. He loved to tease her, she loved his brand of teasing, and even more, they both loved the climax that left them sated and breathless. Sometimes the teasing lasted only a moment, sometimes hours, and on occasion, days. This time the teasing had carried on for weeks, Victor being careful of her healing. She was ready to move forward, full steam ahead.

“I’m giving you new jewelry,” he said. Immediately she felt the tugging as he removed the stainless steel ring from her right nipple and replaced it with something metallic and warm. Something that also had a dangly bit that…jingled. Like a tiny bell.

“Wha--?” she started to ask but he silenced her with a finger against her lips.

“Hold still, I don’t want to miss and hurt you.”

The second nipple ring was replaced and the jewelry on her nipples tinkled merrily as he flicked the tips of her hard peaks.

“Ooh…” She wiggled and moaned. The music was faint, but there. How far would it carry? She didn’t even know where they were going tonight. He’d said it was a surprise. “May I see?”

“Not yet,” he said, his hands moving downward. “Sit on the seat behind you, in full presentation.”

She quickly scooted off his lap, to the rear facing seat and scooched down, her legs spread, giving him complete access to her smooth coochie.

“Keep your eyes closed.” More bells tinkled as he replaced the labial rings and finally her clit ring. Cold liquid touched each spot. “To prevent infection,” he explained. “Although you’ve healed, it’s still early days.”

Good hygiene was at the top of Victor’s list. He didn't ever want to be sidetracked by uncleanliness. A fact she appreciated.

Eyes still closed, she could only imagine the expression on his face as he flicked each tinkling bell, the sensation firing her imagination. Were they going to the club where he’d pull back the drapes of her dress and show off her new jewelry? Were they going to some Mayflower event where only he and she would hear the bells and know where the sound came from? Or was it a far more intimate gathering where only a few friends would be, the women stripped of all but their jewelry for the men to admire?

“Yes, just what I like to see.” He flicked the jewelry pieces, one by one, saying just one word to identify each in turn. “Love. Respect. Devotion. Faith. Trust. That’s what these five represent.” He stopped on the one over her clit. Trust. Her trust had been stretched to the limit when he’d saved this spot for last at the piercing salon. And as always, he’d earned her trust by doing it just right. Even the salon owner had been impressed with his accuracy.

Victor’s finger stroked the very edge of her labia. “You like this. Sit up straight, you know how, I want to look.”

She sat up straight, perched on the very edge of the leather seat, legs spread, the drapes of her skirt falling to the outside of her thighs, her breasts exposed. Each movement made music.

“May I open my eyes?”

“Yes.” Victor’s gaze was directed at her eyes as she opened them. The desire there took her breath away. “What do you think? Take a look.”

She did as told. From the new gold rings on her breasts hung little gold bells, much like the ones hanging from the tree in her apartment. When she moved, tiny gold clappers hit the sides, creating delicate music. She wiggled and from below she heard a slightly different tone.

At his nod, she bent forward and touched herself. Three tiny, enclosed bells, also gold, hung from new gold rings.

“They’re beautiful…but…”

“The noise?” His eyes crinkled in amusement. “Our secret. Others may hear it, but only you and I will know where it’s coming from. However,” he reached into his pocket again and withdrew a long jewelers box, “this will redirect the curiosity but for only the truly knowledgeable.” He opened the box and took out a small gold chain with a five bells hanging from it. “Give me your right foot.”

He’d barely secured the chain around her ankle when the car slowed and turned. “We’re here.”

A glance out the darkly tinted window showed the car traveling up the long drive to Victor’s family’s mansion. So. A family event. And Victor had dressed her to catch attention. A glance at his face showed his wicked amusement. He loved to taunt his perfectly icy stiff parents. Usually he did it some way other than flaunting her, or their sexual relationship, in their face. But tonight, she didn’t care. Really, she never cared. Both of them shared a disdain for the hypocrisy of their “set” and how they pretended to be proper on the surface, yet most cheated on their spouses and business partners in private. What she had with Victor was far more healthy, far more loving and respectable, a code shared with their closest friends.

Victor tugged the bodice of her dress over her breasts. “I can hardly wait to unwrap you later.”

By the time the driver came around to open the door, Terri was covered properly. Victor climbed out first and helped her from the warmth of the car into the cold under the portico. Not one flake of the snow falling from the inky sky would touch her head or toe, but that didn’t make her any more eager to stand outside. Without running, Victor whisked her into the grand foyer where a servant waited to take their coats.

They were quickly caught up in the crowd made up of forty of Paul Maitland’s closest friends and family. Small talk and laughter, served up with champagne and hors d'oeuvres, mostly covered the tinkling of Terri’s bells. When someone commented, she shook her leg, drawing attention to the bells at her ankle. Many women turned green with envy while their men took their time admiring her leg, and other bits of skin showing as she moved about in the protective shell provided by Victor’s arm.

Victor’s best friend, Sheldon Clark smiled knowingly and brushed up against her more than once. They’d talk more at the club, although Sheldon’s Aunt Amelia, another member of V Club, also smiled into her champagne and quietly asked what the bells felt like, while the club’s manager, Edward, listened attentively. Amelia mildly commented she’d been considering something similar.

“We’ll get together soon and I’ll fill you in,” Terri promised, curious about the odd expression on Edward’s face. She knew he and Amelia were friends, but tonight something seemed different. Not just that Edward was at an event away from the club, he was a regular in society, but Terri couldn’t ever remember him standing so close to Amelia. Amelia’s husband, Charles Walker, stood across the room, blind to what might be a developing liaison. Interesting.

Possible scandals were forgotten the moment the dining room doors were thrown open. Dinner was predictable, although the beef roast was far more exquisite than the chicken often served at larger events. Everything around her glittered, from the decorations filling the dining room, to the priceless china and crystal, to the jewels worn by not only the women but the men as well. Victor wore a solid gold bracelet she’d bought him and a family signet ring with a significant diamond set in it. All the major jewelry designers were well represented. She speculated that all the loot combined could open a store to rival Tiffany in value.

With dinner cleared, dessert and coffee just served, the room quieted to the music of a spoon gently tapping a ringing crystal goblet. Terri followed the sound to see Victor, seated near his mother, ignoring the maternal glare for abusing the crystal.

Their gazes locked. The room hushed. Victor stood and lifted his newly refilled champagne glass. Walking slowly, he started around the table.

“I have something to say.”

The last whispers in the room died and all grew still but for the background music. Carol of the Bells.

Terri’s breath hitched and her heart leaped. She only had eyes for her lover, and he for her. The more intense his gaze grew, the warmer her cheeks became.

“I’ve only known Terri a year. But from the time our gazes met across the room at the St Jude’s gala, I’ve seen no other woman.”

He walked around his father’s end of the table, and Terri turned in her chair to follow his progress. She was seated at the midpoint of the table, between a congressman and a priest. Both of whom had glanced at her chest more than once as if trying to pinpoint the source of the music coming from her nipple bells.

“Terri, I’d be honored, and immeasurably proud, if you’d allow me to call you my wife.”

He reached out to her and she grabbed a hold of his hand with her left. Slowly she stood and moved into his arms.

“Marry me.”

“Yes,” she whispered around the ringing in her ears.

Applause broke out around them as he kissed her, deeply, meaningfully, possessively.

“The ring!” someone called out. “Let’s see the ring!”

Laughing, they were both breathless when they parted.

“Yes,” Victor said. “This wouldn’t be complete without the ring.”

In his hand was yet another jeweler’s box, small, square and covered in black velvet. He opened the box and revealed the treasure inside. Five slender, gold bands, four of them folded into a knot over the middle ring where a huge emerald cut diamond rested.

“Five gold rings,” he whispered. “To match the real symbols of our love.” His hand brushed her breast as he lifted her left hand, making the bell there ring.

Terri understood. The rings he’d given her in the car.

Of course the ring fit perfectly. Victor was careful about such details.

“Love, respect, devotion, faith and trust,” she whispered back to him.

“What’s that?” the congressman called out.

“Love, respect, devotion, faith and trust,” Victor said out loud. “The five tenets upon which our relationship is based. All are equally important and symbolized by the five rings held together by a lovers knot.”

Arms still around her, Victor turned her so he stood at her back and held out her left hand, the movement accompanied by her muffled bells.

“I keep hearing bells,” the elderly priest muttered.

Victor hid his laugh by pressing a kiss to her neck, an act that sent shivers chasing across her skin and started a warm, moist, ache between her legs. When the congressman held up Victor’s glass of champagne for him to take, she realized he must have passed it off before embracing her.

They stayed just long enough to gather the congratulations of everyone present, and giddy with anticipation, she let Victor take her off to the foyer for their coats.

The old butler smiled. “Your car is waiting, Mr. Victor. I offer my sincerest congratulations, and the staff extends their best wishes for a long and happy life to you both.”

Victor clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, Rothwell.”

Terri hurried into the car, hardly noticing the thick flakes of white falling like a curtain around the house. She wanted to accept Victor’s proposal her way.

He’d barely sat when she leaped onto his lap, legs splayed to straddle his thighs.

“Hey,” he gently protested.

“Yes, Victor, a thousand times yes,” she said as she flung off her cloak and reached for his pants. “Just don’t make me wait a second longer. I want you now.”

Instead of holding her back, he pushed her skirt panels aside, ringing her bells as he stroked between her legs. “Sweet Venus, you’re wet. You’re molten.”

“I am. All for you.” She opened his fly and reached inside, finding him readily enough and setting him free from his silk boxers. “And you’re ready for me.”

“Only you. Always you.”

She directed him with precision and lowered herself onto his cock. His hands found her lower rings and tugged on them, holding her open until he was fully seated inside, filling her the way she loved best. Inside she flexed her muscles, drawing a groan from him.

“I want to hear bells,” he said. Hands gripping her hips, he lifted her and let her settle down again, the sound of her bells creating a merry tune. “All of them, keep moving,” he ordered and reached for her breasts. The bodice readily parted and he wrapped his big hands around each breast, bouncing her flesh, making the last two bells ring. “All of them, darling. Fuck me like you mean it.”

She began to move, fast, slow, up and down, undulating, rolling her hips, grinding against him, all the ways they both loved. All around she heard bells. The music was glorious. If the saying were true, a whole host of angels were getting their wings right then.

Victor pulled her toward him and wrapped his lips around one nipple while tweaking the other, playing with her nipple rings in ways he hadn’t yet dared. Spikes of heat, pure liquid fire, streaked through her body. She held onto his shoulders loving the contrast of his perfectly groomed upper body, still securely wrapped properly in silk and wool while his center connected with her center. So proper, and yet so naughty at the same time. It was the contrasts of Victor that kept her intrigued. So very much like him and something that kept his business competitors off balance.

As if sensing her slight distraction, he used his tongue to tug on the nipple ring in his mouth and she felt her anticipation, her need, move higher.

He released her nipples, moving one hand to her waist, the other to the bell between her legs. “Do you like this? Did it tease you all evening?”

“Yes.” She moaned. “Yes, the bell kept tormenting me. All of them. I wanted nothing more than to drag you into the library and beg you to fuck me right there, on the desk, on the rug, anywhere. I need you. Now, Victor, now.”

“There’s an image I like. You, wide open for me, on top of my great grandfather’s desk.”

He rubbed her clit harder and she exploded. Bells filled her ears, although she wasn’t sure if they were the ones she wore, inside her head, or on the stereo. Victor’s shout followed a second later and she felt him pulsing inside her clenching muscles. His hands gripped her hips hard, holding her down tight on him. A long moment later, it seemed like hours, her body eased right down on top of him like wax softened to the point just before melting.

“There’s one tenet we left off the list,” he murmured.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Desire.”

“That’s the diamond. It sparkles like my desire for you. Now and always.”

“Five gold rings and one bright star to remind us for all time.”

“Merry Christmas, my love.”

“Yes, very merry.”

Victor moved deep inside her and she smiled right into his shining eyes. From the speakers came her favorite carol of all. The bells would always remind her of this night.

Victor pushed the button to speak with the driver. “Take the long way home, Nelson.”

“Very good, sir.”

The intercom cut out and the music returned.

“Now where were we,” Victor asked.

“We were playing some music.” She moved on his lap and her bells joined the carol on the speakers.

“…pa-rum-pum-pum-pum…I played my best for Him, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum, rum-pum-pum-pum, Then He smiled at me, pa-rum-pum-pum-pum...”

Victor’s smiled outshone all the diamonds she’d ever seen. “Yes, play for me.”

* * *

For more of That Olde Christmas Magic, click on the title and it will take you to the Smashwords link.

Angels might get wings with every bell that rings, but four couples find that bells and magic this Christmas send them flying on wings of love.

~ Victor and Terri find their spell with five words and Five Gold Rings.

~ Greg and Lisa’s hearts are Tied Up in a Bow (or two).

~ Sheldon has A Paddle for Patti and she learns every now and again it's good for the soul.

~ Edward has All Amelia Wants for Christmas, but can she take it?

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to leave a comment or send me an email if Blogspot is being naughty! morgan (at) morganqoreilly (dot) com

That Olde Christmas Magic

2011-12-08T13:00:00.004-06:00

Now Live on Smashwords

Coming soon to Amazon/Kindle, B&B Nook and other ebook retailers

That Olde Christmas Magic

A Collection of Erotic Stories

by Morgan Q. O'Reilly

Ring in the holidays with Victor and Terri and Five Gold Rings

Greg and Lisa get Tied up in A Bow (or two)

Sheldon has A Paddle for Patti

Edward discovers All Amelia Wants for Christmas

A 99 cent read from Morgan Q. O'Reilly. Find it Here.

Coming Soon - Jingle Bell Hop

2011-11-26T12:42:00.005-06:00

Join the Jingle Bell Hop, December 9-11, get a new take on the Twelve Days of Christmas, and get a chance to win books and/or a Kindle Fire! What a way to ring in the holidays this year!

Book Reviews - Bookin' It Reviews: A Day in the Life of Rachel Dahlrumple

2011-11-17T13:24:00.000-06:00

Book Reviews - Bookin' It Reviews: A Day in the Life of Rachel Dahlrumple: Bookin' It Reviews is proud to welcome author Shea McMaster here today! She's here today with Rachel Dahlrumple, the heroine from her roma...

Rachel Dahlrumple: The Blog Tour

2011-11-09T11:43:00.004-06:00

This week all the action is taking place on Shea McMaster's blog tour. Rachel Dahlrumple is now available at Lyrical Press and this week only is introductory offered at 30% off! Yes! Instead of $5.50, you can get it for $3.85. This is a full length novel, so you get a lot of story for your buck.

Okay, so much for the used car sales pitch. I'm not good at it anyway.

To get all the details, find out the backstory of how Rachel came to be, get yourself over to the Blog Tour organized by the lovely ladies at Goddess Fish Promotions. They've hooked me up with some very awesome blog folks and we're having fun with interviews and blogs dealing with issues such as writers block and betrayal.

Today is Day Three and I'm visiting at Carrie Ann Ryan's blog. For the entire schedule, check it out at HERE.

Oh, and if you just want to buy the book, look for it at LPI, Amazon/Kindle, Nook, ARe and many other fine ebook retailers. I don't mind. Really. You can buy as many copies as you like ;)

But if you comment on just one blog, or LIKE my Facebook page, you get entered into the drawing for a tote or mug with the cover of Rachel Dahlrumple. Very exclusive, these items are available only by contest and cannot be purchased anywhere. Make a comment AND like my page and your name goes in the hat twice! So don't delay. Play today!

Morgan, writing as Shea McMaster

Traditional Romance for Modern Women.

Upcoming Releases and Blog Tour

2011-10-15T17:17:00.004-05:00

Exciting times are coming to the Morgan Diaries. We've got books! Jmo's next release is December and Morgan's Courage to Live, Book 2 in the Open Windows series is moving from galley to production for a Feb release.

But even closer than that, coming November 7 is the release of the long awaited Rachel Dahlrumple by Shea McMaster, aka Morgan's sweeter side. The good twin.

To really celebrate the release of Rachel, as the book is affectionately known by all who love it, Morgan is having a Book Launch Tour organized by the awesome folks at Goddess Fish Promotions. There will be prizes! I haven't decided if it will be a mug with the cover of Rachel, or a tote bag. I might let the winner of the drawing choose. Or I might have two winners. Depends on how many people comment and say really nice things to me. Or about me. Either works.

So here's the schedule. There will be a quiz later, and I'll be asking (reminding) people to drop by. Feel free to check out these sites ahead of time and get familiar with the owners. It will make for a fun time when the tour launches full force.

Nov 7: Romance with an Attitude Blog: Breaking Writer's Block
Nov 8: Megan Johns Invites Interview
Nov 9: Carrie Ann Ryan Blog: Getting Over Betrayal. Fiction vs Real Life. Is there a difference?
Nov 10: Romance in the Backseat Blog: How does being a writer affect you as a reader?
Nov 11: Laurie's Thoughts & Reviews Interview
Nov 14: Good Family Reads Blog: Critique Partners, a continuation of the Writer's Block blog.
Nov 16: Words of Wisdom from the Scarf Princess Blog: I'm working on a topic now.
Nov 17: Bookin' It Reviews Blog: A day in the life of Rachel Dahlrumple
Nov 18: My Odd Little World Interview

As the blog tour doesn't start for three weeks, I don't have everything exactly in place just yet, but I will. I have to. I'm leaving for two weeks in Mexico starting next Friday. I get home at Oh-Dark-Thirty the morning of the 6th. Don't be hating, it's my first trip with Mom to the timeshare she's had for eons. It's finally my turn. Yes, I'll take pictures of the pool boys. Jmo's applying for the job as we speak.

Come play with us! Got a favorite J. Morgan, Morgan O'Reilly, or Shea McMaster book? We'd love to hear about it.

Morgan

Summer is Heating Up!

2011-07-16T15:41:00.007-05:00

While Jmo swelters way down south, and I melt under Alaska's impression of a summer, things have been getting busy behind the scenes. So much so, we've neglected our blogging duties.

I can assure you, Jmo has been writing up a storm! Yes, he's been chained to his laptop, writing so furiously he hasn't even had time for my FaceBook jokes. That's sad. BUT, you will be the beneficiaries, as his Love Bites series continues on in it's fast-paced hilarious style. Besides, you have to check out his covers. Original art by the incredibly talented Nik Rainieri. It's awesome. The next one, Book Five: Lovership of the Stake comes out August 1.

As for me, the other Morgan, I've been editing like crazy. Not only my work, but I've been editing on the side, as a way to keep my mind sharp. That and people seem to think I know what I'm doing. Hey, as long as it gets me a little cash and more books, I'm willing to give my opinion in the formative stages. Whether they like my opinion or not doesn't matter. I'll do almost anything for free books. Now I just need the time to read them.

Which leads me to my next topic. MY next release. Yep, I got one. And I've been lazy about promoting it. So here it is:

Releasing Monday, July 18, 2011, Til Death Undo Us: Book One of the Open Windows Series. Manic Readers gave it a 4.5 star review already!

And here's the even cooler part, Book 2, Courage to Live is in edits for a February release! Book 3 is started. That's all I'm going to say on that one, but it should be out sometime next spring.

In other Coming Soon News, my alter-ego, Shea McMaster has a new release going through final edits as we speak. Rachel Dahlrumple, a full length Romantic Suspense is coming out this November. Keep an eye on that link, the blurb and excerpt will follow in the coming weeks. You can get a first peek at the beautiful cover there.

So, you think that's enough stuff happening? No way! There's more!

Due to the popularity of the Temp Tat from my last post, I've created a line of products for those who want to show off their love of eBooks. Or rather, books in general. If the Get Some Tonight heart makes you smile, share the happiness. Yes, you can get mugs, apparel, mouse pad, apron, magnet, or even a key chain with not only the Get Some Tonight logo, but some other doodling I've been doing, at my Zazzle store. Some of these items might even become prizes or give aways somewhere down the line.

NOTE: One little caveat. Just a teeny tiny thing. In order to see the Get Some Tonight items, you have to be set up to see PG-13 sites. There are a couple G-Rated items, but most are PG-13.

In the mean time, I'm handing out temp tats and bookmarks like CRAZY. A bunch are headed for the Midwest Fiction Writers Fall Harvest Workshop with Margie Lawson this coming September. You lucky ducks! I had so much fun last year and wish I could go again.

Okay. NOW I'm done. So much to do! So much happening! So little time to do it all! When the reading bug bites, we hope you think of us, The Morgans.

Love,

MorganO

Get Your Tat!

2011-06-15T22:56:00.005-05:00

Fun, Fabulous, and in limited quantities!

It’s a temporary tattoo designed to help you send a message to your someone special.

Yes, the Big Guy, aka my Budget Master, said I could order the spiffy shiny new bookmarks to go with the tats if my friends and fans sent me a letter sized SASE to help defray the cost. Bookmarks and tats in addition to envelopes and postage made him frown, but this he agrees to!

To get your very own, send me a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope. Must be able to take a 6″ bookmark, so letter size is perfect. Send it to:

Morgan O’Reilly C/O AKRWA

Attn: Temp Tat!

P.O. Box 877743

Wasilla, AK 99687

2″ x 2″ it’s the perfect size to put, well, just about anywhere on your body! High quality, long lasting and fun to flash! If you’re lucky enough to attend RWA National, you might be able to get one there, but why wait? Why risk missing out on the limited supplies available in the Goodie Room?

And supplies definitely are limited to first come first served, so don’t delay!

PS: If you really want to, you’ll be able to snip off the “Love, MorganO” without losing any of the heart before applying, but really, why would you want to?

Disclaimer:

For Entertainment Purposes Only. For adults 18+. Not for children.

Use with Care.

Informal testing has shown these tats inspire lustful thoughts in devoted partners.

Results may vary based on location of tattoo.

Use Responsibly… or not.

Author assumes no risk or blame, but will take all the credit!

Happy Birthday Desert Breeze

2011-04-27T00:00:00.004-05:00

A funny thing happened on the way to quit writing. I didn't. Yeah, I know that sounds a bit confusing but it's true. A little over two years ago, give or take a month, I was standing on that cliff all authors find themselves on at one time or another in their lives. After having not one but three defunct publishers, a case of writer's block like you wouldn't believe and a fairly large stack of internet rejections, I fully intended to slide my trusty laptop onto a shelf and go back to my first love. That would be sitting in my chair watching TV, just in case anyone is wondering.

Now, we get back to the bit about a funny bit happened… Love those dot dot dots! Where was I? Oh yeah, the funny thing. I heard that a friend from one of those aforementioned defunct publishers had plans to kick start a company of her own. Since I already had a couple books more or less finished, I figured, why not give it one last shot? It didn't hurt that I trusted this friend, and believe me, being a writer trust is a big plus when choosing a publisher. We talked for a little while and I really liked the direction she had in her head for this new company. I have never been one to write the steamy and she wasn't interested in the steamy. Stories were what she was looking for.

So, when we finally got around to talking about the above stories, I told Gail I had this manuscript that had already made the rounds. Which led to a third degree worthy of Elliot Ness. I'll be the first to admit, my style isn't exactly positioned on this side of normal. That's part of my charm. She agreed to check it out and see how it fit into her vision for Desert Breeze. So, needless to say, not only had I found a new place to sub a book, I also reconnected with a friend.

After a short period, Gail got back to me. Always a good sign in this business. She liked the story, but where did I see it going? Honestly, I wanted to write more with the characters. In fact, before I let her look at it, the story had already been beefed up from the original length of twenty thousand words, from when I'd subbed it the first time, to a total of some forty something thousand words. So, I explained the ideas I already had for a series based on the first book. A little bit of hindsight here, but it's gone past those feeble notions and exploded into something I hadn't even seen back then. She gave me a hmm and said that she liked the idea but the first book needed more.

More! More? What exactly did she mean by that? Didn't matter. My brain had already started churning. Or, was that burning? Because, I definitely remember smelling smoke and something that vaguely smelled like bacon and cheddar. In any case, I could come up with something. There were some parts that could stand a little umphing up. I'm all about the umph. So, with my carpel tunnel whining, I jumped into the fray and pumped out another twenty thou of story. A side note before I go any further: I would still like to jump in with a fresh can of umph. After writing nearly four more books in this series, I see some room for improvement in the story that started it all. In case you haven't figured it out, the book was Love at First Stake.

From that first conversation with Gail, I got the impression that Desert Breeze would become my home. She made it quite clear as a publisher she wanted stories, not brief encounters that were more flash than substance. I'd gotten into writing to tell stories. To make pictures move inside people's minds. Here, I'd found a publisher with the same agenda I had. Not only that, but Gail and Jenifer were willing to give me a chance to explore this strange world that had been living inside my head and see where it went. Out of everything I've gained from Desert Breeze, that is what keeps me delving into the same world. Desert Breeze isn't just a business, it's a family. We care, support and help each other.

In a world where everything is dog eat dog, I couldn't think of a better place to call home. And I was honored to be one of the first authors to be released under the flowing Desert Breeze banner. It's hard to believe it's already been two years. Funny how time flies, when someone keeps you chained to a laptop and forces you to live inside your own imagination. Really, no forcing involved and Gail says the chain can come off in a year or so.

To celebrate not only Desert Breeze's anniversary, but mine with them, I would like to offer one lucky reader one of the books from the Love Bites Series. To check out this series, and the rest of my insanity, click here and feel free to check the rest of the amazing authors. So, how does one get in the running for a chance to win? Just plop a comment down and you're not only staked out for a Love Bite, but you're also tickling the fang for the grand prize at the Desert Breeze Blog to be announced at the end of the month. Mine will be on the 28^th, so stay tuned.

Before I sign off and go do something authorly, like write or something, Happy Birthday Desert Breeze, and here's to many more!

LASR Voting is open!

2011-02-15T18:22:00.003-06:00

Voting has opened! So run on all four paws if you have to, over to Long and Short Reviews and cast your ballot for our little Southern Bell with Bite! Madison would be most appreciative. Who knows she might not chase your car next time there's a full moon, but I'm not promising. She gets bitey and scares me just a little. To cast your vote, click on the handy dandy banner above and it'll take you to the LASR site. As always, thanks for your support and keep on reading!

Nominated for LASR Book of the Year!

2011-02-07T18:09:00.005-06:00

I am so excited I could plotz! Long and Short Reviews has nominated The Southern Werewolf Chronicles Book One: Were Love Blooms for Book of the Year! I know! Right? Instead of preening over my own awesome, which is only as awesome as the people involved in the process of making this book possible, let me instead thank those people.

First and foremost, I have to send out a big this one's for you to my loving wife Jenna for inspiring me to love, write and to create Madison Lee. Yep, that's right she's Madison. Another big congrats needs to go to my wonderful crit partners who were with me every step of the way on this book with helping advice, comfort and a lot of support when I needed to believe in myself and didn't. You know who you are, but Morgan O'Reilly, Susan White and Helen Ravell thanks and please don't stop being those voices in my chat window. Finally thanks to Gail and Jenifer with Desert Breeze Publishing for taking a chance on me and this series. Without them, it would probably still be stuck on my computer gathering dust. Another thanks goes out to those of you, the readers, for continuing to support me and my work. Truly, I could not do this without you and wouldn't want to even try.

All that said my last thanks has to go to Long and Short Reviews for liking Were Love Blooms enough to nominate it and having as one of the Best Books of 2010. I'm in some great company, too. So, just being listed is an honor. I'm not just saying that. The voting begins February 14^th and runs through the 27^th.

Were Love Blooms and I hope to see you at the polls!

Lovers of the Lost Stake Available Now!

2011-02-01T18:07:00.004-06:00

Funny thing happened on my way to February. Lovers of the Lost Stake was released! That's right you can now sink into another thrilling episode of Vampire hilarity and fun. Did I mention the nonstop danger? The Endless Pop Culture References? The smoochy bits? Mustn't forget those. Love Bites Book Four has all that and more funny than you can shake a pointy stick... uh... I mean... sharpened stake at. Not to sound all demanding or anything, but what are you waiting for? Run don't walk. Wait, if you texting--safety first--just sit there and click on the dandy links below to snag your copy of the funniest Vampire adventure you'll read this month. Okay, enough of the sales pitch. Please enjoy a short blurb and excerpt just to whet your appetite for bloody goodness.

Love Bites
Book Four
Lovers of the Lost Stake

Blurb

Alejandra Montoya is on the trail of the man who killed her parents. Love never figured into it. Then, she met Eli Ravell, or tried to kill him more precisely. Against her better judgment, she allows him to drag her into an adventure seeped in all the things she has sworn to destroy. Namely, a butt load of Vampires and things that she didn't even know existed.

Now, she finds herself falling from one near death experience to another. Somewhere along the way she's discovered her life might not be the only thing she has to lose. Every minute she spends with Eli brings her one step closer to losing her heart.

Excerpt:

"My name is Alejandra Montoya and you killed my father!"

Well, my mother, too, but I felt it only sensible to focus on vengeance for one parent at a time. Once I'd killed him for my father, I'd kill him again for my mother. That way I'd have all my bases covered and could move on with my life.

True, I hadn't found out about the fact they'd been murdered until a few weeks ago. That in no way meant I hadn't agonized over it enough for a life time since finding out. As a Sister of the Sacred Order of St. Joan -- in no way associated with the Sacred Order of St. Vlad -- I'd spent my entire life honing my body into a weapon in the war against Vampires. So it could be said, even before the particulars of my being an orphan came to my attention, I had already been preparing for this moment. Not to be confused with the moment where I missed killing this one's older brother. Luckily, someone else took care of that for me, leaving me free to focus on finding Eli Ravell, the next Ravell on my list of possible murderers. I hoped he was the one. I hated killing indiscriminately.

Three weeks later, I'd tracked him down to a seedy hotel in the heart of Marrakesh. These Vampires certainly got around. Not that it mattered. This one wouldn't be checking Priceline.com for value packages once I got through with him. Of course waiting for him to finally succumb to his daylight slumber and hanging around until the hallway leading his room cleared of people had taxed my patience, but as they say, revenge is a dish best served lukewarm. Unless its gazpacho, I try not to eat anything cold if I can help myself. It upsets my digestion. Ice cream being the only exception to that rule. And Frappuccinos, but they're a given.

Where was I again? Oh yeah, about to stake this sucker.

"Confess, Vampire, and I'll make your death quick!" I lied. Vengeance demanded a long and agonized death, but he didn't need to know that.

Available at

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-140/J-Morgan-Love-Bites/Detail.bok

And

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Bites-Book-Four-ebook/dp/B004LLIDSA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1296603823&sr=8-1

Editing: Does it REALLY matter??

2011-01-05T17:53:00.004-06:00

A little double dipping here, I've also posted this on the AKRWA Blog for this week.

Spell checkers and other editing things.

Love them or hate them, they are helpful and useful tools. In fact, I recommend every writer have Spell Check turned on at all times. In MSWord, that little red line will help you catch misspellings immediately. Then there's the blue line to alert you to the wrong spelling, or possibly the wrong word—also a useful tool. The green grammar lines? Those I tend to ignore since fiction writing takes some liberties with proper English.

However.

Yeah, you knew that was coming. However. These built-in tools in super-smart word processing programs do not take the place of the human eye and, I hope, human intelligence.

After the program has done its best to help is when a really sharp-eyed editor or beta reader comes in. Someone who can catch the things your MSWord program and tired eyes won’t. There, their, and they’re all sound the same with very different meanings. She’s and she’d are very easy to mix up with the “s” and “d” keys being side by side. I see loose and lose mixed up more times than I care to mention. Your program won’t flag any of the above as misspelled.

Same with roll and role. “He acted out his roll with finesse and skill.” Does this mean he knew how to play a bit of bread? (Ha! Word just tried to correct the word for me. I set it straight.) I suppose it could mean he did a perfect job of rolling down the hill, across the floor, into bed… but in the context of the story, this was not the meaning.

I recently found this sentence in a published book: “He drew in a shaky breath, tried to recall if this was how he felt about her first kiss as a green lad of fourteen.” One word. Just one word is out of place here and makes the sentence ludicrous. Yet to a spell checker program everything is just hunky dory. Had that been the only instance of an error, I probably would have blown it off. Sadly, it was one of at least half a dozen errors that leaped off the page and threw me out of an otherwise entertaining story.

Of course, I’ve seen the spell checker do harm by trying to correct a word here and there. A badly spelled word can be switched in the blink of an eye. Back in the day when I edited technical reports for scientists, I caught one trying to marinate a laser. He’d tried to type “maintain” but mangled it so badly MSWord changed the word to “marinate.” I learned to read his reports very closely.

The key here is editing. Careful, thoughtful, intelligent human editing. A good edit will catch these little goofs that can cause an author’s intelligence and education to be called into question. Yes, typos will at some point escape everyone. It happens. I’ve seen it in NYT bestseller books. If there are no more than two per novel, those are easily shrugged off. More than that? Well, that’s where credibility begins to be called into question.

Years ago, two or three at least, I was reading a book released by my then publisher (the book was not mine, thankfully) and was horrified to see that consistently throughout the book, barely (Merriam Webster Definition of BARELY 1: in a meager manner : plainly 2: scarcely, hardly) was consistently replaced with barley. (BARLEY: a cereal grass.)

I’m sure the author knew the difference between the two, but no one caught the misspelling before release. One time in a novel, well, ok. But more than two dozen times? The author really liked that word, I suppose. Too bad it was the wrong one. At least it was consistent? Nah. Bad ju-ju all the way around.

Which leads me to something I’ve said since the days I was an editor and in charge of other editors who had the joy of editing my books.

NO-one is above editing, least of all me.

I don’t care who you are, or how many novels you’ve sold world-side, we ALL make mistakes. Whether from reading a manuscript too many times, fingers hitting the wrong key or an extra key, or MSWord trying to help out, we all need one more pair of sharp eyes to help us see the tiny errors hiding in the text. Or the not so tiny errors, such as missing words or extra limbs appearing in a love scene. Or the magical leap across the room complete with bouncing eyes. Or unintentional time or head hopping. Or changing hair/eye color without a reasonable explanation. No writer is immune.

Bottom line here. For all the “eyes” who beta-read and edit your brilliantly written book (novella, blog, etc.), the final responsibility falls to you, the author. That’s what galleys are for. They’re our last chance to make it perfect. Never, ever, rush this stage, or you might have me gently knocking at your inbox with a kindly worded email, which you’ll hopefully take to heart in the spirit intended: support and assistance.

Okay, seriously, only my closest compatriots get those emails. I barely have time to write my own novels and beg for critiquing without adding more to my plate. Because with what I throw at them? I get it back ten-fold. Lord love my crit partners, because I sure do—after I finish whining about their comments.

So what do you do? I’ve heard of several things authors do to help catch these little things.

Read the work out loud.
Read it backwards.
Read it very slowly, out loud, and backwards.
Know your weaknesses and do searches for them.
Surround yourself with excellent critique partners who will actually give you the bad news that your grammar stinks. Better them than a reader or reviewer.
Find a beta reader who excelled in English. (Mine beat me bloody about improper and over-usage of the word “that.” Still does to this very day. And no, you may not have her name or email address. She’s all MINE.)

I’m sure there are many more techniques out there. I’d love to hear yours. Maybe it will help me do a better job. (And yes, I had at least three people read this article! The mistakes it still contains remain my fault entirely.)

Morgan Q. O'Reilly

Get Some Tonight

http://morganqoreilly.com

For Men: What makes YOUR perfect mate?

2010-12-09T21:33:00.004-06:00

Seriously, this is for research, so I'm looking for honest, thoughtful answers.

Let me explain. The time is far in the future and a young woman wants to immigrate to a newly colonized planet.

A young man, eighteen, and unmarried, is helping his cousin of the same age fill out an application to become a mail order bride.

He insists on putting down things he's convinced the perfect woman can do. From cooking to fishing, he makes a list of all he considers important in his future wife, therefore he expects other men will appreciate the same qualities in a wife. If she's even looked at a sewing machine (stores are few and far between on the colony) he insists she claim she's a seamstress.

So. Here's where you men come in handy. Especially those of you under 22, and unmarried, although I'm curious to hear from the older, married/committed men as well.

Give me your dream list. Keep it somewhat clean. You can state "likes alternative sex" but I'd rather not have a list of particular positions, OK? But let's get beyond the physical relationship. Does she have to like what you like? Music? Games? Movies? Food? Does she have to be responsible for all housework if you're responsible for everything from the garage outward? How about some give and take?

Feel free to answer anonymously, but I would like to know your age and stage of commitment, such as: 22 Single. 20 Married. 17 and Hoping. 32 still looking... etc.

Ladies, hold your answers, please. You'll get your say!!

MorganO

To The Stars... And Beyond!

2010-10-27T17:20:00.007-05:00

Borealis Book I Borealis Book II

Two of your favorite authors, SIX great reads!

If you like Futuristic Science Fiction, then these two books will provide six times the pleasure. Of course, the entries by Jmo and me will be the highlights... okay, who am I kidding? They're all great and focus on six different sets of brave heroines and hunky heroes. What more could a girl want?

Below are the excerpts from the stories your Morgan authors contributed. This time Shea gets to step into MorganO's place for a fun romp through the space station.

Kiss Me, Kate by J. Morgan

K'Tyln Dar is a pampered prince who wants to finally become the man his planet needs so he goes in search of the baddest bounty hunter in the known universe -- The Professor.

Richelle is called The Professor because she knows every possible way to kill a man. Most people -- like K'tyln -- have no idea that the most ruthless killer in the known universe is a woman. And she likes to keep it that way. Richelle has neither the time nor patience for a puff-shirt, golden boy politician like K'tyln Dar.

When he brazenly demands to meet The Professor and reveals his desire to 'learn to be a warrior', her first thought is to put him in his pompous place. But, as he takes his licks -- and bruises -- and contusions -- she sees a glimpse of the man he not only wants to be, but the man he is deep down inside.

Bleu Lies by Shea McMaster

Commander Kal Raines began questioning the wisdom and guidance of the TPP when they exiled him to the Borealis. But, he's loyal if nothing else. Since then, he's questioned every choice he's made in the name of the TPP.

Summer Merriweather has worked for the Rebellion under many names and in many situations, and now she's on Borealis. She has a mission which includes sizing Kal and how he might be of use to the forces opposing the TPP. Is he ready to switch sides?

When Summer crosses Kal's path, she brings even more choices into question and he sees his loyalties have been thrown to the feet of swine. When he realizes he has the chance to help in the ultimate overthrow of the TPP… he stands and the precipice and must either step back or jump. Step back, and let the Rebellion die… Jump… and join Summer in an ongoing, stealthy battle to strengthen the rebellion and perhaps someday overthrow the TPP.

We hope you check them out and fall in love with a whole new world.

Morgan O'Reilly

Writing as Shea McMaster

A Two-Fer at LASR

2010-10-23T13:31:00.006-05:00

Today, I feel doubly honored. Long and Short Reviews has nominated not one but two of my current releases for Book of the Week. Immortally Yours and The Borealis Anthology are both in some pretty great company. Sadly, I must now use my Jedi Mind Tricks to encourage you to go vote.

These are the books you want to vote for...

Please ignore the man waving his hand like a loon, but he's a bit insane, being an author and all. Okay, I'm the one waving but still that's no reason not to step forward and cast your vote. Besides, it might make me stop twirling my hand around. My wrist is starting to hurt.

Thanks ahead of time for your consideration and vote,

Jmo

Here's where to go cast your ballot!

Long and Short Reviews

Guest Author Jennifer Hartz

2010-09-08T00:01:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since we posted an interview but when I found out fantasy author Jennifer Hartz was available, I had to dust off the old Gandalf costume and invite her to the Diaries' plush and palatial offices for a sit down, hoping for some dishy dish on her upcoming book, Conception, Book One in the Future Savior series. I read the blurb on the Desert Breeze site and have been waiting breathlessly—well not breathlessly, because I'm still alive—for its September release. I so do love a good fantasy.

So, please give a rousing welcome to Jennifer Hartz. Okay, you guys in the back, I didn't hire you to stand around looking like elves. Let's hear some clapping and somebody glue Bernie's pointy ear back on. I will not have people thinking the Morgan Diaries can't afford Lucas-worthy special effects!

Jmo: Jennifer, welcome to the Diaries. Please ignore Bernie. Sauron knows, I wish I could. I had some Lembas bread here somewhere but it appears someone got a case of the munchies. Excuse me for one moment, Jennifer. Reginald! No, don't try to deny it. There're crumbs in your makeup. Now, where were we? Oh, Yes, please say hello to our readers and tell them a little about yourself.

Jennifer: Hello to Jmo, the motley crew (elves included), and of course the readers! First of all, thanks so much for having me on your blog… at least I think this is a good thing. Should I be worried that Reginald might eat something else?

As Jmo said before Bernie's ear fell off, my name is Jennifer Hartz. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, but currently I live in northeast North Carolina. I have a great husband and an amazing little boy. I also work as a teacher. If all of that wasn't enough to monopolize my time, now I've taken on the task of being a writer… apparently I enjoy torturing myself.

Jmo: Let's cut right to the chase. Conception! Tell our readers about this amazing looking book.

Jennifer: The best way I can sum up Future Savior is to say that it is a combination of all the stories I have ever loved. It is essentially a Christian fantasy series, similar to The Lord of the Rings, but modernized and with a major romantic storyline. There are also some subtle sci-fi elements and a huge cliffhanger that stems from the season finales of my favorite sitcoms. What? We have to wait all summer to find out if Ross and Rachel get together?!

The story revolves around Christina Vaughn, a seemingly ordinary person who is thrust into an extraordinary situation only to find out she's not as ordinary as she assumed. As Christina makes her way through her amazing fantasy-like adventure, she learns a great deal about her unbelievable past. She falls in love along the way, all the while battling horrific monsters and struggling with her remarkable destiny.

Jmo: I love the idea of an Inspirational Fantasy. How hard was it to combine all the elements of what people traditionally think of as fantasy with the Inspirational side of the book?

Jennifer: The pieces sort of fell into place on their own. As I conjured up my fantasy, the Inspirational elements of the story-line evolved right along with it. I think this stems from my strong Christian faith. I'm sure there will be some more conservative Christians who will hate Future Savior, it's near impossible to write an Inspirational Fantasy without having a few eyebrows raised, but I hope the majority of people out there can stretch their imaginations and truly enjoy the story.

Jmo: World building! You know I love it. With a series on this scale, how much world building took place before you started the first book? Did you already have an outline of what you wanted to accomplish or did the different elements fall into place as you dug in to write the book?

Jennifer: The Future Savior Series is the byproduct of a ridiculously long commute. I have an hour and a half drive… one-way. That's three hours in the car! One day, while driving, I started to daydream about interesting characters and the fantastical land of Meric. I would let my mind conjure up different storylines for my mystical characters, pulling out the things that really worked and filing them away in my memory bank. For three months these daydreams continued until I finally realized I needed to sit down and write. There are five books in the series and I have them all planned out… I just need to sit down and write the remaining four!

For the actual structure of The Land of Meric and all its lovely little details, I have a pretty good template already in existence with which to use… okay, I know that sounds vague, but if you read Future Savior Book Two: Resurrection it will make sense.

Jmo: Will the series revolve around Christina, the main character in book one, or will different characters narrate each book?

Jennifer: Future Savior is Christina's story to tell so she'll be leading you through the entire five book series

Jmo: Normally, I'd pound you with questions and wring every ounce of knowledge out of you, but this beard is beginning to itch—I think it has beard bugs or something in it—and I want to leave plenty of room for a juicy excerpt. I want to hit you with one more question before you leave. No, Bernie put down your hand. This isn't Q and A, time. I'm the only one with the power to ask questions. See, I've got the staff, so I get to do it. One more thing outta you and you're not getting paid. So, no store brand Oreos for you!

Sorry about that. You just can't hire quality anymore. As I was about to ask, what is the one thing you hope readers walk away with after finishing Conception?

Jennifer: "Write a story that you would enjoy reading." That was the advice I used when working on Conception. I created a story I would love so my hope for the readers is that they have as much fun reading Conception as I had writing it.

Jmo: Thanks for joining us today, Jennifer. It's been a blast. Before you go drop that excerpt on us, please let everyone know where they can keep track of you and your amazing books on the Net.

Jennifer: It was great being here Jmo, thanks! Although I am a little worried at the way Reginald is staring at me. I hope he doesn't follow me home. By the way, congratulations on Immortally Yours, your own September release. I'm looking forward to reading it! The best place to find me is my website:

http://jenniferhartz.com

http://jenniferhartz.com/blog

Facebook

Twitter

That's your one-stop-shop for all things Future Savior! People can learn more about me, my books, and all the other fun places to find me on the web including Twitter and Facebook. I hope everyone enjoys the following excerpt… including Bernie.

Future Savior: Conception

Available now from Desert Breeze Publishing

Excerpt:

Shaw faced me and the frightened men. His incredible pale blue eyes narrowed, and burned with such intensity they were nearly silver. "Stay back. I can handle this."

A brilliant flash of lighting framed his perfect physique in an illuminating beauty. A resounding crack of thunder pounded the air, and I jumped. How did the storm happen upon us so quickly?

The five men backpedaled until they were behind me. Then Shaw spun to face the beasts. He tossed his bow and arrows off to the side and ripped out his long sword from its sheath. Neither Shaw nor the Vaipes attempted to strike. They assessed each other, trying to ascertain a weakness, I supposed. The Vaipes on either end of the pack were trying to slowly loop around behind Shaw and surround him. This was the scene from my premonition!

The lightning and thunder continued. Shaw's muscles tensed. He prepared to attack. Looking around me quickly I realized that the five men were gone. I stood back myself, watching Shaw, not knowing what to do. I had my sword raised, but I had no clue how to help him.

Apparently he didn't need my help.

He pounced with alarming speed. The spin move he performed was so quick, so strong, so devastating that when he completed the one-hundred and eighty degree turn that took less than a matter of seconds he had killed seven of the Vaipes.

He faced me now and the fierce, deep concentration in his face astounded me. He attacked Vaipe after Vaipe, and the beasts continued to fall before him. I couldn't believe how swiftly and fluidly Shaw moved. He had pulled out his smaller sword now and assailed the creatures two at a time.

Shaw truly had to be the greatest warrior in all of Meric. None of the Vaipes even came close to him. He just spun, ducked, thrashed, lunged, turned and twisted so effortlessly that it barely appeared he exerted any energy at all.

When the last Vaipe lay dead, he walked toward me, wiping the blood and gore off his face. I stared, amazed by what he just accomplished.

He looked me over, drawing the back of his hand across his cheek. "Are you alright?"

It was a loaded question. Was I physically injured? Was I mentally scarred for life?

I replayed the last few minutes in my head. I witnessed a man being eaten and Shaw slaying more than twenty Vaipes. The stuff of nightmares.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Even though I wanted my statement to sound brave, I couldn't control the shakiness of my voice.

"You should go inside one of the houses," Shaw reiterated.

I was about remind him of my last answer to that suggestion when a Vaipe leapt at us from on top of the fence. I dropped my sword and tried to shove Shaw out of the way, but he was just out of my arms reach. My telekinetic powers kicked in again and I brushed Shaw off to the side with my left hand as easily as sweeping dust from a shelf. With my right hand, I held the Vaipe in midair. It looked at me with such hatred and rage that I couldn't help but scoff ever so slightly. Then I thrust my right arm as hard as I could, throwing the Vaipe into the fence knocking the wind out of it. Grabbing my sword again, I ran to the dazed monster. I hesitated for just one second, wondering if it was right to kill something that was knocked unconscious, when its eyes snapped open and it snarled at me, bracing for attack. The instinct to protect myself outweighed my moral debate, and I slashed it straight through heart.

I turned back to Shaw, breathing hard. He stared at me with raised eyebrows and a slightly open mouth.

I smiled. "How can I go inside a house when clearly you need my help."

Shaw snorted a laugh. "Clearly." He gathered up his bow and nodded for me to follow.

Jmo Interviews Himself??

2010-09-05T19:04:00.002-05:00

Because MorganO disappeared for a long weekend -- really, who gave her permission? -- I ask you all join me and me as I interview myself--huh?--on the Kwips and Kritiques Blog today.

Yes, I meant to say that.

So kick off your Labor Day Eve with a little insanity and a lot of laughs. This just might prove that I do indeed need to be locked away. Let's hope not. I have an unnatural fear of padded surfaces.

Kwips and Kritiques Blog

Immortally Yours -- as in Forever.

2010-09-01T14:22:00.006-05:00

Immortally Yours <= Get it here!

A NEW Release from J.Morgan!

Chase Michaels thought being cursed to live forever was a pain in the butt, until he finds himself on the trail of a runaway bride. When the lovely Mrs. Belle Gardner puts three shots right into his chest, he discovers pain in the butt doesn't even begin to cover the trouble he's let himself in for.

Learning that his client lied to him and that his trace is really the client's stepdaughter, Chase's rusty conscience gets the better of him. He agrees to protect her, only to find himself sinking into a deeper mystery that somehow connects Belle to his curse. Thrown headlong into a dark world where fairytales walk the earth, he must fight to keep them both alive. As a war of apocalyptic proportions breaks out around them, Chase struggles to discover if he can stand being immortal if it means losing the one thing he's never had -- love.

Chase is big, and bad, and gorgeous! Don't mess with Chase, unless you want to tickle his love engine. This hero is hot and just too much fun for words. Well, Jmo has the words, it's up to you to read them.

MorganO says: Eternally thrilling!

Shea McMaster says: Better than vampires!

Quinn O'Shea says: Magically delicious!

Get your copy today and be forever entertained. Well, until his next book comes out. In a month. Oct 1, The Borealis Anthology from Desert Breeze Publishing, but more on that later.

Jmo is back.

2010-08-31T18:05:00.001-05:00

Oh feel free to roll your eyes. I know how long it's been since I lurked my way onto the blog. It's not that I hate to blog, because I don't. It isn't even that I'm forgetful, which I am. I had to hit up my fellow Morgan for the password, if that tells you anything. It isn't even even—is that a grammatical error?—that this has been the busiest year of my life when it comes to writing. Three books, epic sized, and a soon to be released short with the next Love Bites book due out in February and still in the WiP stage of the game can testify to that fact. Sure, when you add all that up, I can see why I think forgetting to blog could happen, but that isn't it.

So just what the heck is it? Okay, here goes. My deep dark secret revealed. I don't think my life is exciting enough to warrant a day to day or even a weekly recap of my boredom. I can't see myself subjecting anyone to that. I hate the hit and miss, here's my book that's coming out bit too. So, let's back this up. I'm boring and don't want to shove my books down your throats. What's left to talk about? Not a whole lot, when you put it like that.

Here's my proposal. When something sparks my interest, I'll chat about it. Not Blog, because blogging sounds impersonal to me. Chatting is what friends do. If you're here to check out what my partner and I have on our minds, I count you as friends. And, the whole book thing. Well that's going to happen too. If I or Morgan found our interest held long enough to write them that must mean they're interesting enough for us to talk about. So, expect some of that.

What else? Well… We hope to have a friend or two drop in from time to time. A contest or two during the year. Maybe, when our hectic schedules allow another free read like The Morgan Diaries Halloween story. More than that I really can't say, because right now we don't know.

One more thing. We'd like this to be a forum for you, our friends, to voice your thoughts on what we have to say. To kick it off, we'd like to hear what you guys would like to see here. Again, no promises, but if there's something you'd like to know about us or our books leave us a comment.

That said. Stayed tuned for some exciting news from me about a certain September 1st release from yours truly—or is that Yours Immortally. Snicker!

Jmo

Vacation Blog Tour Special Guest Tabitha Shay

2010-08-24T01:37:00.004-05:00

WITCH’S MAGIC/BOOK FOUR BY TABITHA SHAY

Witches, werewolves, and vampiresan unprecedented alliance between the species.

Prince of Darkness: The realm of Vampyre is on the brink of a devastating war. In order to save his covens from total annihilation and claim his right to be king, Prince Valerian Radu must find a mate immediately and breed her. However, convincing the feisty witch, Shasta LaVeau, she’s First Bride material is a war in itself—Shasta has but one thought on her mind—drive a stake through his black heart!

Princess of Light: In Shasta’s opinion, the only good vampire is a staked vampire. Half-witch, half-werewolf, she leaves the borders of Ru-Noc to save her best friend, Princess Kali, from the evil fangs of Valerian, only to fall under the hypnotic spell of the sexy vampire.

Witch’s Magic—where four realms collide—and there can only be one winner!

Author’s note and excerpt:

Hi Everyone,

I’m so thrilled to be a part of Cindy’s Summer Blog Tour, but before we get started, let me take a moment to say a big “Thank You” to our hostess…

I’m frequently asked where I got the idea for my Winslow witches of Salem series and of course, like most all of my writing, I’m usually inspired by a song. In this case, it all began one morning when I was listening to an Eagles’ CD, and to the song, Witchy Woman…from there, my imagination took flight.

In the course of writing this series, my witches have done a lot of serious traveling. Saylym, from Witch’s Brew, book one, left London with the intention of moving to a small town called Sanctuary. Little did she know Sanctuary was a magical realm where witches, warlocks and many strange creatures dwelled—it was a journey with many surprises waiting for her.

Heather, from Witch’s Heart, book two, found it necessary to travel to Salem, Massachusetts in order to discover her roots and who she really was.

Kali, from Witch’s Moon, book three, crossed a continent and journeyed to Romania. Little did she know she was going to make this crossing, and that the unplanned trip was going to land her in a world of trouble.

Kirrah, from Witch’s Fire, book five spends a lot of time on her broom traveling around Sanctuary…if only she could manage to learn how to land the darn thing…

And that leads us to Shasta, from Witch’s Magic, book four, and the excerpt I’ve chosen to post today. Shasta is Kali’s best friend, and when she disappeared in Romania, Shasta decided a little action was necessary. Determined to save her friend, Shasta travels to Romania and yes, we know there’s only one way a witch travels long distance…Need I say she ends up requiring a bit of rescuing herself?

I hope you enjoy the excerpt.

Excerpt from Witch’s Magic—Book Four in the Winslow Witches of Salem series by Tabitha Shay:

Shasta paced the floor of her small room at Dracula’s Inn. She’d rented the room in Village Pyre the evening before. Anxious to see a bit of the village and track down her quarry, she’d explored the countryside earlier in the day.

She’d learned the lay of the land and located Valerian Radu’s castle at the edge of the Transylvanian border a few miles away. The castle lay to the south and at the base of the beautiful snowcapped Carpathian Mountains, a region frequently known as the Land of Vampyres, Land of Fangs, Handsome Bloodsuckers, and tragically, a land where young, beautiful females frequently vanished without a trace.

The Village Pyre region was too isolated for major authorities to investigate the disappearances. Even if they attempted, they, too, vanished without a trace. When she asked questions about Valerian, the locals crossed their hearts and warned her away from the castle.

A young male clerk at the desk had flirted shamelessly with her, but he’d been quite serious when he insisted she buy a cross, wear it and stay indoors after dark.

He explained that lately there had been a rash of attacks on young women. Most believed Prince Valerian was somehow involved with the strange happenings since he was the accepted ruler in the area.

Shasta didn’t know why they bothered with warnings. It was impossible to get inside the castle. There were so many wards around it, it was ridiculous. Ha! One might be justified in thinking the vampire feared a stake through the heart.

Well, there were wards around the outer walls, but she bet Prince Valerian hadn’t allowed for the fact someone might scale the castle wall. She was just the person to climb over it...come daylight.

Restless, she was ready for action, but the sun was going down. She wasn’t fool enough to go out in the cold and start hunting vampires in the dark. She’d end up the main course on the menu.

Shasta paused and eyed Pinky. “Is that a cross around your neck?”

Pinky flinched because anything pertaining to the mortal’s religion was so not their religion. Not that Weres or witches had anything against mortal beliefs, it just wasn’t the witch world’s way in believing, or the Were’s.

“Yes, Missy, although I’m not a religious pig, and I’m a magical creature, and oh, damn, the cross kind of burns, but Pinky afraid vampire might hurt him worse. Missy need wear a cross, too. Good juju magic.”

“What’s the matter with you? You know a witch or Were can’t wear a cross. We have our own religions. Mortals believe in one true God, nothing wrong with that. We all have a right to our beliefs, but witches and Weres believe in many gods, so we can’t wear a cross for just one. Why, I wouldn’t know which of the witch gods a single cross represented. It would only piss off all the other gods, anyway.” She paused, biting her lip. “Did you get a spare cross, Pinky?”

Pinky grinned. “I did, Missy.”

He dug in his pocket and pulled out the dainty cross with a delicate gold chain and held it out to her.

Shasta drew it over her head. “Stop grinning, Pinky. It’s temporary. What are you scared of, anyway? We’ve been here a night and a day and about to go into our second night and we haven’t seen a single vampire.”

“Then why Missy wear cross?”

“Well, you know…just in case. I think all that vampire crap is a bunch of hoopla to pull in tourists, but it’s best to play it safe. If it means wearing a cross, then…”—she shrugged—“there’s nothing wrong with wearing a cross. Humans believe, so why not me?”

Pinky shuddered. “Missy best hope we keep right on not seeing bloodsuckers. Pinky wanna go home.”

“We aren’t going home, not until I’ve managed to get inside that crumbling old castle. Did you see the disrepair? How could anyone, even a vampire, live in such squalid conditions? It’s a disgrace. That castle needs a woman’s touch.”

“Don’t be getting ideas. It best you leave vamp-man alone. I hear velly bad things about evil vampire in area who feeds and feeds for the pleasure of the kill. They call him Mr. Rogue Vampire. The villagers be very frightened. If this be Missy’s vamp-man, you headed for velly big trouble. You be Mrs. Rogue Vampiress ’fore you know it.”

“He’s not my vamp-man.”

“Pinky not care. Pinky velly upset Missy force him on this bad, velly bad trip. Gonna tell Master Creed. He be velly pissed at you, too.”

“You aren’t telling Creed anything. Swear it, or I’ll cut out your tongue! Worse, I’ll donate your feet to the pickle plant.”

“Squee!” Pinky looked at her through his thick fringe of bangs. “They have pickling plant here?”

“Yes!”

“You lie! Missy lie when it suits her purpose. Pinky refuse to swear any word. Do your worst. Go ahead, pickle my feet.”

“I will!”

“Squee! Pinky velly upset. Pissed at Missy. Warning. Warning. Velly pissed. Gag. Gag. Puke. Puke.”

Shasta shook her head and returned to nibbling on her thumbnail. Flying all the way to Romania on her broom from the Wing Academy had been one hell of a trip. She still had flight-lag. Still felt a bit disoriented. All she wanted to do was sleep.

She’d slept through last night once they arrived and secured a room, and most of today. The entire day, her sleep had been disturbed by a male’s voice calling to her. She hadn’t answered, because she knew it was simply the flight-lag causing her to imagine it.

Shasta eyed the three brooms standing in the far corner. Like Pinky, they hadn’t stopped trembling since they discovered where they were flying to. The brooms could be spiteful when they weren’t happy, and they hadn’t been happy for several hours now. In flight, they kept trying to turn back to the academy.

She’d finally had to threaten to set fire to their switches if they didn’t obey her commands. Oh, they’d obeyed, all right. They’d given Pinky and her one hell of a ride as punishment, zooming through the air like streaking banshees. She wasn’t too happy with their display of rebellion.

Poor Pinky squealed the entire trip...upside down on the broom.

Visit my website at
http://www.tabithashay.com
http://www.tabithashay.blogspot.com
http://www.moongypsypress.com
http://www.eternalpress.biz

Thanks, Tabitha! Join us tomorrow for Morgan’s spotlight on Denyse Bridger’s blog!

The Blog Tour Has Begun!

2010-08-19T01:51:00.006-05:00

Be sure to check out the progress of the tour starting with Denyse Bridger at: http://cindyjacks.blogspot.com

Follow the tour each day, leave a comment and I'll enter your name in my drawing for a pair of dangly earrings designed to catch that one special man and a copy of my Alaskan romance, Chinook Wine and Sink Her.

Next up is my sister Alaskan writer, Juniper Bell who knows how to put the spark in hot Alaska nights all year 'round!

Morgan

Vacation On My Mind

2010-08-15T12:41:00.006-05:00

I look at the calendar and realize summer is nearly gone and I wonder how that can be! Summer sunshine has shone only for a handful of hours this year with record-breaking number of days in a row with precipitation. Not all is lost, because when it's too hot--or in my case--too cold and wet, to get out and enjoy summer, I have books!

The good news the time inside has been well spent. Two novellas completed! And more in the works.

However, we're talking vacation! The last chance at summer. Hang out. Chill. Relax. Get comfy and find a book to take you more places than you can travel in a summer. One of those places is a wee spot on the Yukon River, deep in the heart of Alaska. And to make the hooking more fun, I've got a pair of earrings just right for adventure!

Play along and these fun and fabulous earrings could be yours! Two winners will also get a PDF copy of Chinook, Wine and Sink Her, but only one will get the earrings too.

On Wednesday, August 25th, I'll be the featured author on Denyse Bridger's blog. Comment and your name will be entered to win. That's all there is to it. Follow the tour and your comments will earn you extra entries. What could be more simple?

Tune in August 18-25, make some new friends, travel new and exciting places and celebrate summer wherever you may be!

Morgan Q. O'Reilly

Get Some Tonight

http://morganqoreilly.com

Chinook, Wine and Sink Her by Morgan O'Reilly

Linnet Greenbriar has a job to do on the isolated Alaskan Yukon River. Hoping the remote area will keep her away from men for as long as possible, she is shocked to see the handsome stranger walking up the river and singing a little song. All her hopes change when a mishap sends her falling into the river and also into the arms of said handsome stranger.

Creed finds himself in the wrong place at the right time and becomes a self appointed hero when he rescues the beautiful Fish and Game Officer from the icy river. All he wanted was a little peace and solitude, but one look at this city girl has him changing his tune.

Warning: Sex in bathtubs filled with water from natural hot springs, too many men and a moose, who just might interrupt the fun.

Books You Read Twice

2010-05-26T09:55:00.006-05:00

Ever pick up a book so good, that when you finish it, you turn right around and read it again?

I'm starting to keep track of those books on my GoodReads book shelf. Books-Read-More-Than-Once is what I called that elite category and I'm adding one more today: Haunting Jordan by P.J. Alderman.

I'm not entirely sure how I picked this book up. A friend got a copy at last fall's Emerald City Writers Conference. She read it on the plane, loaned it to her sister-in-law, who loaned it to a friend, who also passed it on and the book has been passed on to who knows where. My copy has a sticker from a used book store on it. Sadly, last night at Borders I went looking for more work by this author and there wasn't one copy on the shelves.

The cover is a whimsical portrayal of a in-need-of-repair Queen Anne Victorian in the town of Port Chatham, Washington. A house that comes complete with a rogue wisteria, two ghosts and a century old murder mystery. The requisite local hunk lives just a few doors down and makes an appearance early on with a gift of latte. I think I fell in love with him for that alone. Of course, he does a whole lot more to deepen that love, but it's a great start.

There are so many wonderful discoveries in this book I don't want to give any part of it away. But I will say a few things, hopefully enough to make you rush out and get a copy. The heroine is quirky and endearing, the locals who welcome her to her new home are supportive and refreshing (in other words, just as quirky - I love the Chief of Police), the dog who adopts her is a great sidekick and the ghosts, well, the ghosts are as interesting as the neighbors. This book is a *MUST READ* especially for fans of mystery. Not heavy on the romance angle (that would be my one complaint, more romance!), there was just enough to keep me mostly satisfied and teased. There's hope for future books!

I hope you follow my advice and pick up this book. I'm going looking for her other book, also set in the Northwest, A Killing Tide.

I've read another book recently which fell into the same category: A Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas. The lady can write! The third book of her contemporary series set in Houston, Texas, it's up to the same standard as Sugar Daddy and Blue Eyed Devil (both books I was lucky enough to pick up in hardback off the bargain shelf last night! Now I have all three in hardback and they look beautiful on my bookcase). I particularly love how she writes first person. I'm learning, she's mastered the art. It is so well written, I have to remind myself it's first person.

Next up on my to-read list, A Knight and White Satin by Jackie Ivie. Yeah, I got an ARC! Our local writers group is very excited about this one and I'm holding it off a little as enticement to get some work done. I'm ready to settle down with this one on my laptop, knitting in hand, coffee at my elbow and wish the world away for a few hours. The rest of you have to wait until October for its release.

Yeah, it's summer in Alaska and the reading is good!

Morgan Q. O'Reilly
http://morganqoreilly.com/

Fan Pic - Now That's Success!

2010-04-22T22:00:00.004-05:00

About a week ago I was playing with my FaceBook Fan Page and met a new to me digital artist who goes by the name PickyMe. Well, this gal is good with her hot hunky hero pics!

I was absolultely thrilled to pieces when she decided to do a fan pic of me. So we got our heads together and I explained a bit about the next WIP to be submitted and she came up with...

I can't stop looking at it! I'm true blue in love with this picture. Of course I think it's the best of her portfolio, but don't take my word for it!

Easter Blog Hop - Find the Hotties!

2010-04-02T00:58:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the Easter Egg Blog Hop! If you didn't start at Christa Page's Blog, jump there now and follow the bunny trail of shiny eggs. You’ll find a lot of eye candy on the tour, as well as a basket full of ebooks. Enjoy browsing our site, where we're featuring Cowboys Dream Too by MorganO and Were Love Blooms by J.Morgan.

You should have come from Desiree Holt's blog, and once you find the Easter egg on our site, it will take you to the next one in line.

The entry form to win the Easter Basket of goodies is at the end of the tour. We’ll be running the hop all weekend, so if you have to take a break from all of these hotties, just bookmark the page, and return to the tour at your convenience.

Winners will be chosen Easter Sunday 4/4/10 at 7pm EST, and announced at the Liquid Silver Books forum.

Happy hunting, and good luck! Now for the eye candy:

Need a hunk to run your computer? MorganO will take him!!

Or this guy, Gilles Marini. MorganO is thinking he'd make a great hero of Greek descent for her next Alaska novel. What do you think?

Yeah, MorganO would dance with him anytime. Of course, Jmo prefers to not dance with hot hunks. He'd rather dance with a hottie girl, but only when his wife's not looking! So here's one for the guys, she's even dressed for the holiday!

Now you're ready for the next stage! Remember to leave a nice note for Lyn Armstrong

Be sure to follow the hop clear through to the end to win prizes!

Valentine's Weekend BIG Blog Tour

2010-02-12T09:04:00.005-06:00

Welcome to the Valentine’s Weekend Blog Tour!

In case you missed the beginning, the tour starts at: http://booknibbles.com/blogtour

What a weekend? Have great plans lined up? Hope they include playing on the tour and doing some hottie hunting!

I found him in the garden, think he's tempting??

But on the other side of the garden, for the guys, she's waiting

Be sure to stop back tomorrow and Sunday, too! More cuties to come

Morgan O'Reilly and J. Morgan

The Morgan Diaries - Romance and nothing but Romance

Were Love Blooms gets Best Book

2010-02-11T20:42:00.004-06:00

Sorry, I've been absent of late but I'm working my brain to this side of crazy
wrapping up Love Bites 3. Yeah, I know a short trip that one but sometimes you need to take a break from the almost sane. That said, I had to stop in and share some amazing news. Were Love Blooms has been selected Best Book by LASR. Who knew people liked books about Werewolves? Okay, maybe I did a little but this has totally floored me.

I wish to thank Holly at LASR for making my day and for so many kind words I
just about sniffled.

Here's just a taste but I invite you to please stop by and read the entire
interview.

'If you are looking for a story to brighten your day and make you laugh out
loud, this one will work quite nicely. I recommend this one for all of you who
want lighthearted fun and romance with a touch of spicy romance.'

And if you'd like to link up to the rest just click below.

http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com/2010/02/were-love-blooms-southern-werewo\
lf.html

Here's a bit of Were Love Blooms to get you howling at the moon.

Were Love Blooms

Not to sound totally insane, but how much wax does it take to do a bikini line when you're a freaking werewolf? It wasn't even close to a full moon and I looked like I'd just staggered off Gilligan's Island and the Professor hadn't figure out how to turn a coconut into a Lady Bic. I'm sure Mabelle would have an absolute cow if I showed up at the Gilded Lady with a five o'clock shadow all the way down to my hot pink toenails. As a fully debutanted Southern Belle, my appearance represented not only myself, but the entirety of the South. Heady thought, but I'd grown used to the pressures associated with my station in life.

I'm not being egotistical. Please don't think you're dealing with one of those crazed high strung society sluts who thinks the world revolved around them. I'm nothing more than your average every day run of the mill country girl who just so happened to live in an antebellum home with fifty or so acres to romp around on and a trust fund that'd make your jaw hit the ground. Not bragging, stating the truth. Don't hate me for being beautiful. Hate me because your boyfriend just slipped my number into his Top Five.

I'd call myself pretty much normal if not for the whole hairy-howling-at-the moon-time-of-the-month situation I'm in the process of dealing with. Not sure, but I doubt Midol had an extra-strength anything for that. Lord knows it barely covered a good old fashion cramp. But those are things left unspoken by a girl of my genteel sensibilities.

Like I said, as a proud member in good standing of the venerable Lee family—no relation—I had to be a point of inspiration for all those girls who weren't born me, as well as a pillar of the community since I learned the proper way to curtsey. Age five, by the way and thank you very much. Without me, beingwellme, the whole town would probably fall into ruin and damnation. The men folk would surely revolt if I let even a smidgen of my face into sunlight without my make-up firmly in place and my long naturally curly auburn hair set just so. It's a wonder I hadn't degenerated into a basket case with so much pressure heaped upon my tender shoulders.

Which only made this entire werewolf fiasco all the more traumatic. What would the Ladies League have said if they found out? They would've all choked to death on their Mint Juleps! Drunken church ladies aren't a pretty sight to begin with, so let's not go there. It's not like I asked to become a foo-foo-woof-woof. I'd spent my life avoiding unsightly hair growth for heavens sake.

Loving on Love Day

2010-02-10T23:48:00.009-06:00

This is part of the Valentine's Day Blog Hop with the wonderful authors of Liquid Silver Books! Just click on the words to join the blog tour at the beginning if you missed it. Otherwise, continue down for some lovely eye candy!

We're Morgan O'Reilly and J. Morgan, guests of the awesome ladies who organized this very fun blog tour. Actually, Jmo is shy, so I, Morgan, get to play to my heart's content! And my heart does love to play...

So, it's the most romantic weekend of the year, and well, my guy is taking off for a weekend with the boys! Friends from high school, they do this once a year, just not usually on Valentine's weekend. The dirty rats. (Not really, but it sounds good! And I have pouting points forever!!)

So what to do? Look for hotties to keep me company until he comes home on Sunday to take me out for a romantic dinner!

First of all, a pair of sexy covers!

These are just an example of some of our books. Well, our sexiest covers to date. This tour is sexy, right?

Part of this fun adventure will involve book give aways. Coming in our next post, a couple excerpts from the books we're giving away. Surprise! You'll have to work a little to find out which ones! (Hint: They're listed with the rest of the books being given away this weekend!) In the meantime, feel free to check out our websites or click on the covers above and be whisked off to bookland for more fun information.

Ready to play? Me too!
Morgan O'Reilly
J. Morgan

Happy Holidays! Join the Blog Hop

2009-12-11T03:06:00.005-06:00

Welcome blog hoppers! You should have come from Dhympna du Maurier’s blog, and the tour started at Trina M. Lee’s place, so if you’re just stumbling on this post, be sure to start there! But before you go, have a glass of wine?

Everyone wants an angel of their own, right?? How about putting him on your... um, tree?

Love ebooks and stress-free holidays? Leave a comment for a chance to win some amazing gifts just for yourself -- honest, you don't have to share these:

Preja Vu by Alanna Coca
3 paperbacks from Emily and Elise
For a Price by Olivia Brynn
Wolf's Tender by Gem Sivad
Once Bitten by Trina M. Lee
Bound by Deception by Christa Paige
Rocky Mountain Heat by Vivian Arend
Banged Up by Jeanne St. James
Endangered Hearts by Jolie Cain
Flesh and Blood by Tina Holland
Between Heaven and Hell by Stephanie Adkins
The Challenge by Serena Shay
Protective Custody by Paige Tyler
Human Nature by Cat Kane
Backlist book by Dee Carney
Semper Fi by Jambrea Jo Jones
Red Lioness Tamed by Savanna Kougar
The Spirit of the Place by PG Forte
Iron by PG Forte
In the Dark by PG Forte
Winner's choice of any book by K.Z. Snow
Six Foot Hero by Shea McMaster / Morgan O'Reilly
TBA by J. Morgan - never miss with Jmo!
Hearts Afire December by Emily, Elise and Ella
Signed print copy of Destiny's Magick by Rae Morgan
The Omegas by Annie Nicholas
The Extremist by Juniper Bell
Tastes of Pleasure by Shara Lanel

Your next stop on the Holiday Hottie Blog Tour is Sara Brookes' blog. Don't forget to join us for the after-tour chat party at Gem Sivad's Place. There will be authors dropping in all day long, so come on by! No password necessary.

One more hint for a relaxing holiday: eBooks make an easy, affordable, fun, ecological gift. ;)

Our best wishes for the merriest of Christmas's and the brightest holidays, however you may celebrate,

Morgan and Jmo

Christmas Blog Tour!

2009-12-09T18:00:00.002-06:00

This Friday, December 11, Jmo and I are participating in another fun and fabulous blog tour! Be sure to stop by for your chance to win some fabulous books and talk with some great authors.

Participating authors and prizes:

Trina M. Lee http://trinamlee.com/blog/ Chatting
Serena Shay http://serenashay.blogspot.com/ Chatting
Jolie Cain http://joliecainauthor.blogspot.com/
Tina Holland http://tinaholland.wordpress.com/ Chatting
Stephanie Adkins http://stephanieadkins.wordpress.com/blog/
Emily and Elise http://www.scorchedsheets.com/blog Chatting
Paige Tyler http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/
Juniper Bell http://authorJuniperBell.blogspot.com Chatting
Alanna Coca http://alannacoca.com/blog Chatting
K.Z. Snow http://kzsnow.blogspot.com.
Ella Drake http://elladrake.blogspot.com/ Chatting
Jeanne St. James http://www.jeannestjames.blogspot.com/ Chatting
Annie Nicholas www.annienicholas.blogspot.com
P.G. Forte http://www.rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.com/ Chatting
Shara Lanel http://sharalanel.wordpress.com/ Chatting
Olivia Brynn http://oliviabrynn.com/blog Chatting (when Alanna's not )
Dhympna du Maurier http://culinarycarnivale.blogspot.com/
Morgan Q. O'Reilly http://themorgandiaries.blogspot.com/
Sara Brookes http://www.sarabrookes.net
Savanna Kougar http://kougarkisses.blogspot.com/ Chatting
Christa Paige http://www.christapaige.com/blog/ Chatting
Vivian Arend http://vivianarend.com/blog/ Chatting
Cat Kane http://catkane.blogspot.com/Maybe Chatting
Dee Carney http://www.deecarney.com/blog/
Jambrea Jo Jones http://jambrea.wordpress.com/ Chatting
Gem Sivad http://gemsivad.wordpress.com/blog/ Chatting
Rachel Fox/Rae Morgan/Monette Michaels Chatting only

**********************

Grand Prizes so far:

Preja Vu by Alanna Coca
3 paperbacks from Emily and Elise
For a Price by Olivia Brynn
Wolf's Tender by Gem Sivad
Once Bitten by Trina M. Lee
Bound by Deception by Christa Paige
Rocky Mountain Heat by Vivian Arend
Banged Up by Jeanne St. James
Endangered Hearts by Jolie Cain
Flesh and Blood by Tina Holland
Between Heaven and Hell by Stephanie Adkins
The Challenge by Serena Shay
Protective Custody by Paige Tyler
Human Nature by Cat Kane
Backlist book by Dee Carney
Semper Fi by Jambrea Jo Jones
Red Lioness Tamed by Savanna Kougar
The Spirit of the Place by PG Forte
Iron by PG Forte
In the Dark by PG Forte
Winner's choice of any book by K.Z. Snow
Six Foot Hero by Shea McMaster
TBA by J. Morgan
Hearts Afire December by Emily, Elise and Ella
Signed print copy of Destiny's Magick by Rae Morgan
The Omegas by Annie Nicholas
The Extremist by Juniper Bell
~~~~~~

Jmo's Desert Breeze Scavenger Hunt Stop

2009-12-08T00:00:00.006-06:00

Happy Holidays, Folks.

Thanks for stopping by. Well, I guess you're looking for a question. I know I had it here somewhere. Under the laptop? Nope. Stuck to my bag of Cheetoes? No, not there either. Shoot! I know I saw it a minute ago. Wait! There it is right next to the TV Remote. Good thing, I didn't lose it. The remote, not the question. Though losing that would have been bad, too. Okay, here goes…

Drum roll, please...

What does the hero in Anne Patrick's upcoming DBP release do for a living?

And for the answer click here to go to Anne Patrick's Blog.

Before you go, did anyone see what I did with that remote?

Jmo

Anatomy of a Love Bite

2009-11-22T12:18:00.001-06:00

One of the most asked questions any author faces is: "Where did the idea for that story come from?" I thought why not blog about it. Hey, I blog about sillier stuff. Instead of focusing on one book, I thought why not go whole hog and talk about what inspires a series. Fair warning this blog contains blatant self promotion and more than a little ego spanking. That said, stay tuned for the…

Anatomy of a Love Bite.

It was a dark and stormy night sometime in the Spring of 2008. Really. It was. Check the weather reports if you don't believe me. Anyway, Lynne Connolly IMed me to say a publisher was about to open submission for comedic paranormal shorts. Sounded perfect for me, since I am a comedy writer. At the same time in another window I was talking to another good friend Savannah Chase, in case you're wondering. She said something. I said something. We both LOLed and suddenly the idea for Love at First Stake popped into my head… along with my heroine, Savannah Marshall. But, I needed a hero to match her. Okay, this is going to sound crazy but in yet another window I was chatting with another friend, Helen Ravell, just to give everyone their due. Whereas I wanted Savannah to be a little ditzy but strong, I wanted my hero to be her opposite. Telling Helen my idea, a hero started to take shape. From that brainstorming session Donatello Ravell was born. Rudolpho came as a complete surprise and reflects no other IM windows I may or may not have had open.

A week later, I had the nearly perfect 20k story written and subbed. Now during the two month wait to hear back, I prayed it wouldn't be accepted. Weird for an author to say, but it was true. The whole world inside that 20-something thousand word story kept nagging at me. It wanted to be bigger, longer, and instead of a short story, I had a novel forming in my head. Luckily, I got my rejection and that freed me to start playing again. Over the next 4 months, I tweaked, wrung and basically teased the world I wanted out of the shortie. But, that still wasn't enough. I saw a bigger world. I just didn't know how to get it out. So I shelved it to percolate and worked on a few other things.

Skipping ahead a bit, I heard a new company was about to open. So I dragged Love at First Stake out again and read it over. A small amount of tweaking went on yet again and I subbed it for a second time. Biting my nails I waited. Exciting, isn't it? Since you're reading this, you know I heard back with an affirmative from Desert Breeze Publishing. Feeling pretty good, I beamed, but a pesky question from Gail Delaney set my mind to wandering. In a conversation about the book, she said, 'From the ending I see you left it open to do a sequel. Where do you see this going?'

Okay, as I said, L@1stS was left open to a sequel, but that question burned a hole in my brain, as I scrambled to come up with something other than 'duh'. My muse slapped the answer in my head. At the time I thought it was a good one that soon changed. I waxed poetic about all these siblings floating around and how I'd toss them in the love abyss in each book. See, sounded good to me. Sounded good to Gail, too. So, now we had 3 books in the series in our collective heads. The second, Love to Stake Another Day—available now!—would be about Sav's brother and Donnie's sister and I'd toss in Rudolpho's crazy daughter as the villain. We'd work on the plot for Book 3 later but it would probably be about Eli, Donnie's younger brother.

Before Gail left me off the hook, she asked, 'So what would the series title be?' I was on the hot seat again. Several titles floated through my head. Vamps in Love? Nah! Love Sucks! Yeah it did at times, but no. Love Bites? Okay we both liked that one and sounded much better than Love Sucks, even though Vampires suck blood but in the case of the series, the books wouldn't. Suck that is. We had a title and a second book in our heads. Time to get to work.

Now, we come to Love to Stake Another Day. I was halfway through my first draft, when inspiration smacked me a good one. Each book in the series would be a stand alone book, but part of something bigger. Suddenly conspiracy theories and subplots floated through my head. Each book would tell a main story, but underneath it all something darker lurked. Somewhere down the line all these subplots would converge and explode. I get chills just thinking about it.

That brings us to Book 3, Love Free Stake Hard. Instead of Eli, I saw Demetrious as the hero in this third volume. So, Eli gets pushed back to book 4. With each book I wanted to build upon what has gone on before and pump up the tension. LFSH will have all the elements of the first two, but will finally reveal some secrets I started in L@1stS. I can't divulge anything just yet, but I promise when you turn that last page, you'll be asking yourselves, 'He didn't just do that. Did he?' Or you could be asking yourself, 'WTH was he thinking?' I'm betting on the first one.

Somewhere in the middle of Book 3, still in production by the way, I had another moment of inspiration. L@1stS always felt like there was a story that needed to be told that lead up to the meeting of Sav and Donnie. I approached Gail and said I have this idea for a short, a freebie that would give some insight into the Love Bites world and help bridge the distance between Books 1 and 4. I explained what I had in mind and Gail said run with it. Love Bites ½ was born, or as I like to call it, Love a Little, Stake a Little. And now another piece of the puzzle fell into place. With more pieces to come as the muse sees fit to let me know about them. For now, that is the story thus far of how the story thus far came to be. Whew, I'm tired just writing that last sentence.

Well, that's the Anatomy of Love Bites, sort of. As you can see, inspiration isn't a one time thing. Like a child it grows, adapts and gives you migraines along the way. As an author you either learn to adapt along with it or it'll put you in a nursing home with padded cells. I've already got mine reserved and waiting.

I hope any of this made sense to you. Like I said, people always ask where our ideas come from. Sometimes a two or three line answer leaves out a lot of the details and the Vampire is in the details. 'Snicker'

Okay boys, slip me in the coat and cart me away. I'm ready for the cell now.

Jmo

Before I leave, I just have to thank the man who makes every cover paint a story. Nik, I couldn't do it without you. Well, I could but it's more fun to see what you'll come up with next.

Love to Stake Another Day

2009-11-01T17:36:00.001-06:00

Halloween is over! That doesn't mean you get to miss out on all those things that go bump in the night and the fun they make. Thanks to a special dispensation from the Vampire Council and St. Vlad's—no not that one—League of Slayers the fun is only beginning.

Love Bites Book 2: Love to Stake Another Day is here to get you over that Post-Halloween Slump. Desert Breeze Publishing and J. Morgan are proud to present the second installment of the series that's so Fangalicious, Vampires everywhere are suffering from bad dental hygiene and a severe case of stomach cramps from all the laughter.

Don't find yourself wondering what all the blah blahing is about. Go out and get your copy today. I wonder say you'll regret it, but a stake to the heart may be in your future if you don't. Just in case you're wondering a stake to the heart isn't a good thing. Just as Vlad—yeah that one.

Love to Stake Another Day

Love Bites Book 2

From

J. Morgan

And

Desert Breeze publishing

Available Now!

Blurb:

Lyssette Ravell finds herself smack dab in the middle of a mess her brother started. When a new threat surfaces to threaten the Vampire/Human alliance recently set in place, she finds herself teamed with Kristain Marshall, who just so happens to be her almost brother-in-law.

Sent to rescue her brother Eli from the clutches of Rudolpho's daughter Valerious, Lyssette finds more than she bargained for. There's a traitor on the Vampire Council. Now, Lyssette must save her brother, root out this traitor and at the same time avoid at all cost falling in love with Kristain, the one man who could make her forget all the vows she's ever taken as an agent of the VCI.

EXCERPT

"Let go of me!" It would have came out more assertive if the towel hadn't slipped and I had to scramble to make good on my promise not to show him the money again today.

Kristain pulled me into his rock hard chest, trapping me. "Not until I have my say."

I gave up trying to fight him. Not sure, but I thought my nipples were liking it entirely too much. "You've said enough."

"Maybe I have, but I've been saying it the wrong way. I'm attracted to you. More than attracted to you. Don't ask me what I mean by that, because hell if I know. I just know I can't get you out of my head and that makes me a little stupid around you when all I want is to be James Bond." He let me go and just walked away, leaving me semi-naked and confused. "So, if you want to leave, leave. I can understand why you would want to. I've been nothing more than a horse's ass since the first time we met."

I knew that touching moment would pop up sooner or later. "You're not always a horse's ass. Sometimes you're a cute buffoon."

"At least that's a step up from where I thought I was. Lyssette, I shouldn't even be thinking about you this way."

"Why, because I'm a Vampire?" Not that I didn't agree with him, but I wanted a damn reason.

"Hell, no. After seeing Donnie and Savannah together, what we are ¿ or aren't ¿ isn't an issue."

"What then?" Now I really wanted to know.

"For one thing, we're partners and for another we're family. Well, sort of. The thing is, if we started something and if it ended badly it wouldn't just affect you and me, it could tear Savannah's marriage apart. As much as I want this—" He waved his hands between the two of us. "I won't do anything to hurt her. She deserves every bit of happiness that comes her way."

He'd actually thought this through. I'd taken him for one of those insipid-macho-girl-in-every-city types. He certainly had the swagger down. Let's not forget how well he could fling a line of bullshit at fifty yards without missing a beat. Granted, he was probably a toad and this could be just another one of his tricks. As good as that sounded in my head, I didn't get that feeling. Hard as it was to believe, Mr. Marshall appeared to be baring his soul to me. I didn't see that one coming.

"You're right. It would definitely complicate things so it's a good thing we're not taking this any further." We weren't. Right? My mind said no, but my body seemed to think it might be a damn fine idea. Stupid men showing their sensitive side.

Blog Hop Winners!

2009-10-31T18:13:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who passed our way!!
My sweet slave appreciated all the very nice comments and says he was most happy to have provided pleasure to so many!

And so many requested a copy of The Morgan Diaries, Vol 1, I hope you get a chance to read it today as it reaches its climax on Halloween night.

The Winner of Jmo's Advance Copy of Love to Stake Another Day, Book 2 of the Love Bites Series is...

Gloria Bryant!
Come on down and claim your prize geewiz387!! Or email Jmo at jennmorgan69 (AT) yahoo (Dot) com
Now on to the winners of the Blog Tour

AND THE WINNERS ARE...
First prize: Jewel
Banged Up – Jeanne St. James
Hearts Afire – 3E’s
Afterthought – Cat Kane
Love at First Stake – J. Morgan
No Recourse – Mari Carr

Second prize: Patsy Hagen
Bound by Deception – Christa Paige
Once Bitten – Trina M. Lee
The Challenge – Serena Shay

Third prize: Fallon Hadley
Cin – Ella Drake
Halo in her Pocket – Morgan Q. O’Reilly
Felicia’s Fling – Jolie Cain

Runner Up: Sherry
The Wicked Flame – Stephanie Adkins
Winners choice from Tielle St. Claire

Runner Up: Noelle
Intimate Strangers – Gem Sivad
For a Price – Olivia Brynn

Runner Up: s7anna
Iron – P.G. Forte
The Extremist – Juniper Bell

Runner Up: SusiSunshine
Battered not Broken – Ceilia Kyle
Wyoming Solace – Alanna Coca

Runner Up: SusiSunshine
Battered not Broken – Ceilia Kyle
Wyoming Solace – Alanna Coca

Congrats to the winners and thanks to all the players. You made the day fun and wild. I can't remember a day in the recent past when I've smiled so much. You make blogging fun!

Halloween Hottie Hop - Stop 5

2009-10-29T23:00:00.004-05:00

Get your ghoulie shoes on and prepare yourself to trip the Hottie Fantastic. With prizes sure to stop any of your internet TPs out there, we're certain to Treat your Trickery. To those of you coming to us from Juniper Bell's page, Welcome!

First of all, our Hottie. Okay, really he's Morgan's and she's letting him out only for today. Jmo had nothing to do with the capture of this lucky soul. Morgan treats him sooo nice!

Sigh. Ain't he pretty? And so very, very pleasing too...

Now the fun part. MorganO is holding a copy of Halo in Her Pocket behind the jack o'lantern for one lucky person.

We're not stopping there. Everyone who comments gets a copy of The Morgan Diaries Vol. 1, a compilation of the serial event we wrote in the weeks leading up to Halloween last year. Like pirates and vampires? Great! So do we and we put them together in a fun story for Halloween. Just be sure to comment and send us an email with - I Want TMD - in the subject line. Send emails to: morgan @ morganqoreilly. com (take out the spaces!)

Does that sound like enough treats to you? Nope, not to us either. Jmo is offering up for your spooky consumption a copy of Love at First Bite AND, drum roll please... This is sooo exciting!! An advance copy of Love to Stake Another Day, Book 2 in the Love Bites series!!!

Prizes galore! Everyone gets a treat!! So comment, get a free read, and be automatically entered to win one of the three books being given away. What could be simpler? Nothing, which is why you need to comment right now, before you get excited and forget.

When you're through haunting our blog, hop on over to Christa Paige's Blog for more Ghostly Goodness in the Halloween Hottie Blog Hop.

PS If you get lost on the tour, check out the map located at Site: 1 Gem Sivad

2009-10-29T02:51:00.004-05:00

It's a Halloween party!

The bloggers below are gathering the tastiest treats for your trick-or-treating pleasure. Join us on Friday October 30th for a plethora of eye candy. All you have to do is start at the beginning, you’ll find a link to the next blog on the trail. Comment on each along the way for a chance to win the following prizes! More information to follow

I have my hottie all picked out, just don't tell Jmo! He might get embarassed.

Also, tell me if you can spot the other two Alaska authors on the tour!

Thanks to Alanna Coca for including us!

Gem Sivad – http://gemsivad.wordpress.com/blog/
Trina M Lee- http://www.trinamlee.com/
Emily/Elise – http://www.scorchedsheets.com/blog
Juniper Bell – http://www.authorjuniperbell.blogspot.com
Morgan Q. O’Reilly/Shea McMaster and J. Morgan – http://themorgandiaries.blogspot.com
Christa Paige – http://www.christapaige.com/blog/
Celia Kyle – http://www.celiakyle.com/blog/
Olivia Brynn – http://oliviabrynn.com/blog-2/
Stephanie Adkins – http://stephanieadkins.wordpress.com/blog/
Paige Tyler – http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/
Sara Brookes – http://www.sarabrookes.net/
Jolie Cain – http://joliecainauthor.blogspot.com/
Jessica – http://culinarycarnivale.blogspot.com/
Jeanne St James- http://www.jeannestjames.blogspot.com/
Alanna Coca- http://alannacoca.wordpress.com/blog/
Serena Shay – http://serenashay.blogspot.com/
Mari Carr – http://www.maricarr.com
P.G. Forte- http://www.rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.com
Cat Kane – http://catkane.blogspot.com/
Ella Drake – http://elladrake.blogspot.com
Tielle St. Clare – http://tiellestclare.blogspot.com/
Tina Holland – http://tinaholland.wordpress.com/

Friday October 30th is also the last day to enter the Cupcake Give Away at Naughty in the Backseat (see previous blog post). Be sure to enter and win some sweet cupcake prizes!

Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Get Some Tonight

Look for my books at Barnes & Noble, Amazon/Kindle, Books-a-Million and other fine online retailers.

Nine Days of Prizes

2009-10-23T00:10:00.004-05:00

It's a Cupcake Give Away from Romance in the Backseat and you could win a download of on of my books... or a whole bunch of books!

You can't win if you don't enter! Save the Ta-Tas!

Morgan O'Reilly

Get Some Tonight

What does it take to be an author?

2009-10-05T18:42:00.002-05:00

This isn't the Blog I planned for today but sometimes things happen to change the warp your mind wants to take. This Blog ties in, so bear with me.

I've spent the last few weeks talking about the hazards of writing, and the inspiration a writer needs but I haven't hit on the most important thing. What does it take to be a writer? Let me adjust that. What does it take to be a published author?

Let me start off by saying anyone can write. Writing is nothing more than getting an idea from Point A—your brain—to point B—a piece of paper or a computer screen. Writing can be a diary entry, a poem, or a note to your loved ones. The thing is it takes more than transporting ideas to be a writer, well a published writer. It takes a talent that doesn't come from anywhere but inside you. Writing makes you a writer. Talent makes you an author.

That said it takes more than talent to be a published author. It takes contradictions. Huh? What you taking bout, Jmo? I'm talking divine honest to God truth. Talent gets your foot in the door, but it doesn't put you on the fast track to anywhere. That's the first contradiction in being an author.

Being an author is all about Ego. It takes a mountain of guts to put yourself out there and say this is my work to first off a perfect stranger—an acquisition editor—then to a whole slew of strangers if it gets accepted and published. Those who slew of strangers? They're the reading public who will either love your book or toss in a box to trade in at the used book store. Lets get back to the editor thing because that leads to our second contradiction.

I said you need an Ego to get into this business. But, and this is a big but. You need to be humble and willing to say to yourself, I'm not as good as I think. That's where an editor comes in. Before you start saying, you don't need anyone telling you how to write, YES YOU DO. It may be something as simple as mechanics of the craft but an author should always be willing to open themselves to new ideas. On the flip side, you should never bend when your gut tells you you're right. Just make sure it's your brain talking and not that Ego.

Contradiction number three. You are your biggest fan and your worst enemy. Say what? Hey, that's not me talking. It is a stone cold fact. This happens to me, so I know I'm not the only one. I'm trucking along with a book and I hit a stone wall. Instead of admitting to myself I've lost control of a situation and rethink what I'm doing, I keep hitting that wall, knowing if I keep banging away at it something'll give. It rarely does. Authors are stubborn that way. This comes from two simple sentences. Thinking you're good is one thing. Thinking you're great will get you in trouble. That trouble being—thinking everything you write is golden.

Well, it ain't. You've got to be willing to take advice and listen to it. Really listen to it. You may hear a lot about crit groups and partners. There's a reason they exist. We as authors need someone to say 'that needs work', or 'hey that's good'. Believe me when I say this. It's easier coming from a comrade in arms than an editor. Not sure why, but it does.

So what does it take to be a published author? Ego, a humble acceptance of criticism and the most important thing of all—a finished book. Not to offend anyone, but I hear all the time—sometimes from myself—I almost have this story done. Well finish it. That's the big difference between a writer and an author. We can push that Ego to its limit and in spite of our own doubts and the doubting of our friends and family, we know in our hearts of hearts we're authors. It's that confidence that tells us to put aside our fears and sub that book. In the end all those contradictions will pay off. The first book may not sell but sooner or later, your greatness will shine and publishers will notice it.

Then, you go from Writer to Author.

Jmo

Jmo gets Inspired

2009-09-28T18:02:00.002-05:00

The word Inspiration is bantered about quite a bit by us creative types. We speak of it in hallowed tones. We attribute it to obscure things like muses, and very rarely do we say the truth. Inspiration is a tool that very few people can use their advantage. Artists, musicians, authors and crazy people are numbered among those people. Notice how close I put authors to crazy people. There's a reason for that. Namely, we're crazy.

As both an artist and a writer, I can say this with all honesty. Writers are the craziest of the bunch. Why, you may be asking yourself? Because out of all those creative types, writers are the only ones able to get away with living inside their own minds and allowing the delusions in their heads leak out to infect those around them. Sure musicians can make you whip your head around and artists can invoke emotions at a single glance, but authors make their dreams become your dreams—the worlds you actively want to stay within. If that ain't crazy, I don't know what is.

But, this isn't a blog about crazy people or writers. This is a Tion blog. The Tion of the week is Inspiration. Though crazy has a lot to do with it, as I know I'll get across as this thing gets wired up. Before I go off on more tangents than you can shake a mouse at, let me put up a professional definition of inspiration thanks to the Encarta Dictionary that came with this Microsoft Word program…

Inspiration: 1. Stimulation for the human mind to creative thought or to the making of art.
3. The quality of being stimulated to creative thought or activity.

That's only a couple of the many meanings of the word, but the two that apply the most to what I'm trying to get across.

Now that we've heard from the professionals, here's my take on it.

Inspiration is the fuel that drives the creative mind. Inspiration is the ability of the creative mind to take the natural world and reform it into entertainment. Inspiration is the ability to form sanity from the craziness that is the human condition. Finally, inspiration is a gift that we all too often take for granted.

Let me start with the first one and explain what I mean. Inspiration is fuel? Hell yeah it is. To an author it is an important as a balanced diet. Writing a book is hard work. Just because you get inspired to write a book doesn't mean that book is going to get finished. No, inspiration is an ongoing thing throughout the writing of a book. A good idea will only get you so far. Constant inspiration acts as the fuel that drives the book. An author's imagination needs continuous stimuli. Heroes need obstacles to overcome as do heroines. Those obstacles come in the form of you guessed it. Inspiration. It doesn't matter where it comes from but it has to come. When it doesn't you've got another unfinished manuscript to add to the growing pile lingering around like a trash heap on your hard drive. Believe me I have a stack of them and it is growing as we speak.

On to the number two in my list. Inspiration is the ability to reform the natural world into entertainment. At its heart, that is the true definition of writing. We, meaning authors, take everything that surrounds us, from our pasts to the ride home from work and use those experiences to create our worlds. Humans are the sum of their experiences pure and simple. Perhaps more so for an author, because we have the ability to take all that and represent it to readers in such a way they can relate to both us as author and the world they sometimes can't see around themselves. That is the true art of being a writer. We see more than even we realize. Amid all that deep thinking, we also entertain through laughter or by forcing you to drift away from your harried life for the span of a hundred pages or more.

Sanity from craziness? Yes, Inspiration is that too. Everyday each of us is bombarded with more sensory input than even a computer could make sense out of. Yet, Inspiration allows a writer to manage those sounds, images, or emotional whatevers into a neat package. Sure sometimes it gets sloppy getting there but if we do our job right, you’ve got a book, or ebook file as the case may be, that makes a little more sense than your hectic life. We can even promise a happily ever after ninety percent of the time. You tell me how often real life can promise you that?

And finally. Yes authors take Inspiration for granted. We think it's always going to be there and truthfully it is. The problem is us. At times we can't process that data coming at us, because we let our heads get in the way. Whether through dealing with life or too much data, we simply block it out and blame our mythical other halves for doing it to us. Funny, how us humans can always find someone else to blame for our shortcomings.

Now you have my take on the whole Inspiration thing. I know you're used to me being a bit off the wall with these things. I hope this tamed down Jmo hasn't disillusioned you. I promised to be back to my abnormally normal self, next time. Til then go dig up some Inspiration on your own and stop trying to steal mine.

The nerve of some people. Where're my Oreos? I need them to go hide in the closet from the muses trying to tell me to do naughty, naughty things.

Jmo.

Jmo gets Desperate

2009-09-21T17:48:00.002-05:00

Over the past few weeks—has it really been that long, man I like to run off at the mouth—I've gone over the three worst bad habits an author can have. Now it's time to show what happens when you—cuz I don't do those things—let those things take root and stick around. Drum roll please…

Desperation!

That's right, authors get desperate. I'm talking shoveling chocolate, hiding under the bed, wondering if the Editor Gnomes are coming to get us for missing our deadlines. Don't laugh. It could happen. Has happened. Shiver!!! In case any of you out there lose your minds and decide to become authors, Editor Gnomes hunt by tracking down the scent of fear and chocolate to its source. But I digress.

Seriously, if a writer's block lasts for a long period of time, it does funny things to your mind. Writing is like Crack to an author. We need to be doing it. Our whole lives revolve around this one single thing. The need to create is so great inside us, we can't imagine not doing it. Once an author, or any form of artist for that matter, finds an outlet for the thoughts in our heads we have to do it on a daily basis. We write, even if it's nothing more than a single line to burn off those creative juices swirling around in our noggin.

Normally the process flows smoothly. Notice I said normally. Despite our delusions otherwise, the brain needs a rest every now and again. We might not know our limitations but our brain does. These creative vacations are an integral part of the process. Of course we don't see it that way. A couple of days of nothing we can handle. Longer than that, and we literally go nuts. Seriously you can only spend so much time on Facebook and rearranging bookshelves before you start shaving the dog and wearing strange outfits to the Wal-Mart. That brings us to desperation.

In our darkest hours we turn inward with our anger at not being able to write. We plot nastiness and wish mortal harm on our muses. We snap at loved ones. We mark our internet territory with blogs about not being able to write, and endless promos telling readers how great our books are. When the truth is all we can do is tell ourselves we suck, the world is coming to an end, and agonize over that bump on the end of our nose that we're sure is well on it's way to becoming Aunt Eugenia's beauty mark—i.e. wart, a big hairy one at that.

Desperation can also lead to some crazy actions on our part, not that the wart thing isn't crazy enough. I, myself, have been known to talk to myself while begging the dog to…

JUST TELL ME WHAT THE HELL I DID WRONG!
WHY DID MY MUSE DESERT ME?
OH, LORD WHY?!!!

He doesn't answer of course. The sorry sack of crap. I know he is conspiring with my muse to write a tell-all book about me.

Instead of going on and on, I decided to ask a few authors what's the most desperate thing they've done to break a writer's block. Hence avoiding revealing how crazy I truly am.

Okay unsuspecting authors…

What is the most desperate thing you've done to break writers block?

Uh, that isn't a moment of silence. Though, it would be more than appropriate in this instance. The truth is, most authors refused to be interviewed on the record after tating it was none of my business and I should go write instead of bothering them. I think it was a load of horse puckie but they threatened my Oreo stash, so I'm leaving them to wallow in their desperation and denial. It seemed to be the most humane thing to do under the circumstances.

All comedy aside—not sure what side but either will do—writing is not easy. Quite frankly, it doesn't take much to throw us over the edge, straight into madness. When you see an author in this state, don't approach them and forget all about any sudden moves. I'm trying to save your life here so listen up.

Authors are dangerous, desperate creatures. We're neurotically moody. That's putting it mildly but you get the point. If you have friends or relatives who are writers don't try to get them into support groups or any of the thousands of other self-help twaddle that's floating around. Just leave us alone in our junk food littered dens of iniquities. Feed us when we grunt and Lysol us down when we begin to smell. Aside from that, there's not much else you can do. As soon as you accept that, the easier it'll be for you to have us locked up when the royalty checks stop paying for our internet connections and caffeine intake.

Did that sound overly desperate to you?

Lurking behind the potted plant,
Sincerely,
Jmo

Mommy Home Alone

2009-09-17T20:23:00.002-05:00

Certainly, over the last eighteen plus years, I’ve had time home alone.

The first time my one and only child left for longer than an overnight, he was only six and we sent him down to Oregon to visit friends. Six years old and flying off to Eugene all by himself. I think he was braver than I was, but he made it safe and sound and the minute I knew it, off I went to our cabin for two weeks mostly on my own.

Bliss! My husband came for the weekends, leaving me alone to fend for myself in the Alaska wilderness. I coped by hand-sewing blankets into window coverings, listening to books on tape and drinking wine with my friend Tina. I also had the furry child with me, so I wasn’t entirely alone. When our son climbed off the plane, he’d entranced a few women. The niece of a friend hung out with him in Seattle during his three hour layover and the lady who shared a row with him on the plane also colored and played cards with him. She sought us out at baggage claim and complimented us on our very polite and wonderful child. How can a mother not feel proud after a moment such as that?

The next time the child left, we were living in Colorado and sent him back to Alaska where he was passed from Grandparents to Uncles to Godparents. He had a great time. I indulged in more wine and romances. Or was I working full time? Either way, I survived, as I did when he and the boy scouts canoed down the Green River or trekked across sand dunes or went to summer camp.

This time, it’s a bit more serious. He’s off to college.

Usually in the summer, he worked or hung out at a summer program. This year he missed out because of some nasal surgery in early June. So I had him at home, for the first time since he was three, 24/7. For three months.

As the end of summer approached, and the date to leave for college raced toward us, we began to get antsy. I tried to get him to start packing sooner because I wanted to spread out the expense of new clothes and supplies, as well as make sure we knew what he had and what he needed. My passive-aggressive boy… sigh. Typically, the last few days were a rush to get it all together and I swore I’d be glad when he was settled in his room. My husband and I joked about backing up to the dorm and slamming on the brakes with enough force to send his luggage flying out the back then driving away.

Imagine my surprise when he stopped us in the middle of the hall on our way back to the elevator with the empties to take home and said, “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you.”

What?

Not the goodbye scene I’d imagined at all. It was only 10:30 in the morning and we didn’t have to be on the road until Noon. We still had an hour and a half!

But no, he was ready for US to leave. Under protest, we got our hugs and then were sent on our way.

Hmmmm.

It’s now been two and a half weeks, and I’ve talked to him only a couple times. One sort of longish phone call, maybe fifteen minutes, the others just quick messages. His father got the hour and a half call this weekend while I was at the writers retreat. At least I know he’s breathing and attending class. He even confessed to his father that he was doing homework before gaming. Good thing he figured that one out early.

But that leaves me with a quiet house and ALL the cleaning and laundry. Harrumph. Though there is one plus. When something gets cleaned, it stays that way a little longer. And it gets cleaned a little better. Laundry moves faster and things get hung up right out of the dryer. I’m hoping to see big savings on the electricity bill there, as under his watch, dress pants tended to go through the dewrinkle cycle 3-4 times before making it onto hangers.

We also have fewer dishes which make it into the kitchen sooner.

But I miss having him to talk to out of the blue. He and his friends provided me with much amusement. Heck, I even miss the all night Rock Band parties, even though not buying pizza, soda and chips for half a dozen young men means Hubby and I can actually go out to a nice restaurant a couple times a month. And still have change left over!

Ah well. It’s for the best. Life moves on and children grow into adults. People tell us we did a good job with him. Now it’s time to turn my attention to myself.

Suddenly writing seems like such a lonely profession. But I like lonely, right?? I’ll let you know at the end of the semester just how I feel about being an empty nester. In the mean time, I don’t have to hide my chocolate in new and creative places. DH never finds it but the kid sure could find every hiding spot! Leftovers also stand a chance of hanging around for a few meals or making into DH’s lunch. Or mine. And I get more exercise traveling up and down the steps when the doorbell rings or the laundry needs swapping. I might get in shape despite myself!

So here’s to empty nesters. May we learn to live with the quiet!

Split Personalities are Me

2009-09-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

After posting my last blog on procrastination, I find it funny I'm way late with my next blog in the Tion series. That said, my tardiness has nothing whatsoever to do with procrastination. I know you're all giving me the look, but this time I'm telling the truth. I spent the last two weeks actually doing my main job, writing. Since last I blogged I've finished the dreaded first draft on a Christmas story—shameless plug coming your way—that will be released from Desert Breeze Publishing just in time for the holidays and the last draft on another short that will see the light of day next year.

Since my next Tion blog isn't exactly to the point I'd like it, namely finished, I thought I'd engage in some shameless self promotion. Being in a gracious mood, I've allowed three of my favorite characters to ask me one question about my approach to writing. I'm letting myself in for a bucket load of regret but sometimes you've got to put yourself out there.

First up is the star of my book MisStaked. No not Breathred, he refused to show up. Something about a comic convention and a fear of internet viruses and a lack of vaccinations if he caught one. So, I've asked Stud Lee Monkey to kindly step up to bat in his place. God help me.

Stud: Yeah like I enjoy taking virgin boy's sloppy seconds. You're lucky I'm a tender soul or I'd shove this blog when the banana don't shine. My butt itches so let's get this over with, so I can get to the spa for my flea dip.

Alright, Mr. Fancy Pants Writer Man how do you come up with such memorable characters? Just remember I was here way before you so you can't take credit for my magnificence.

Jmo: Tell you what, tell the Spanky Bottom Spa to send me the bill for that dip. Stupid monkey, blogs are for kids. Anyway, good question.

Stud: About time you came across with some of that royalty moollah you money grubbing son of...

Jmo: Thanks Stud. Uh, has security escorted him out? Good.

Where was I? Oh yeah. I wish I could take credit for my characters. They spring out of nowhere and capture me like I hope they do you. To be perfectly honest, characters are easy. They're the ones who actually speak to you and let you know who they are. I've been honored to work with some of the greatest characters in the business and can't wait to introduce you to my newest collection of crazies.

Next up is my favorite witchy woman, Nikki. She's the femme fatale who answered the question How Wicked-er Can She Go? Niks, thanks for agreeing to join me today.

Nikki: No prob, Jman. I was just sitting around pestering the fairies in my belfry. As one of the victims of your insanity, I just gotta know. When you come up with your stories, do you have it all plotted out or do you just make this crap up as you go along?

Jmo: Not to disillusion you but I have no idea how to plot a book. When I start, it's you the characters who tell me what's going on. I just listen to you and write it down. I think writing should be like reading. You should never know what's going to happen next. Part of the thrill for me is reading the story same as you the readers. Believe me. I don't have a clue what's going to happen until it does. In my own defense I have an inkling of how a book will end, but half the time I get thrown for a loop and what I think will happen changes completely when that last page is finished.

Last up is one of my newest friends, Savannah Marshall, vampire unslayer supreme and the heroine of Love at First Stake. Sav, thanks for taking a break from your honeymoon to join me today.

Savannah: What honeymoon? My stupid sister-in-law showed up and ruined the whole thing when Rufus' whack daughter decided to go on a rampage. Oops, I wasn't supposed to say anything about that. Was I? It doesn't matter, they'll be finding out soon enough anyway. My question is this. What in the hell are you thinking when you come up with these crazy villains you throw at us?

Jmo: Hey don't look at me. They come from the same place you do. Comedy lends itself to parody and exaggeration. My villains are a reflection of that. I want to create a villain as memorable as my heroes and heroines. From Leopold du Chabris Portus to Rudolpho my baddies are in your face evil with that touch of insanity that makes them stick in your mind. If anything they're the flipside of my hero/heroine. Or, if I wanted to be perfectly honest, they're my evil side. Scary thought huh?

Before you guys decide to get me a nice long armed coat and an all expense paid vacation to a padded cell, I'm going to wrap this self promo lunacy up. If you want to find out more about Stud, Nikki and Savannah, feel free to check out their books at these find book sellers. Night Y'all

Mis-Staked can be bought directly for Champagne Books and…

http://www.champagnebooks.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19_10&products_id=165

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b68030/?si=0

How Wicked-er Can She Go? can be found at…

http://www.onceuponabookstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_72&products_id=110

http://www.amazon.com/How-Wicked-er-Can-She-ebook/dp/B0029LHXBW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1252971521&sr=1-1

http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b87952/How-Wicked-er-Can-She-Go/J-Morgan/?si=0

Love at First Stake is lurking at Desert Breeze Publishing and Amazon on Kindle

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-17/%3Ci%3ELove-Bites--dsh--Book/Detail.bok

http://www.amazon.com/Love-First-Stake-Bites/dp/B0021L9YCG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252971637&sr=8-1

A little Procrastination if you please.

2009-08-31T18:07:00.000-05:00

In the light of my growing need to expound on the things going through my head, I’ve decided to continue this Tion-fest. This week we’re—rather I’m—focusing on another dreaded Tion. This time we’re—I’m—turning my blind eye on Procrastination. The last of the trilogy of nasty Tions.

Authors are masters of devising little ways to get out of writing. Don’t ask me why. We just do it—a lot! I think it harkens back to our creative natures. Hating to be tied down to a normal nine to five existence, we like to branch out and see our world from different angles before committing our thoughts to paper. Yeah, you caught me there. I smelled the BS myself. But part of that is true.

To understand procrastination, you need to understand the creative process. Before we do that let me set the record straight. Authors do not think like normal humans. We see reality and some of us strive to write it as accurate as we can. That said, it’s impossible to do that. You can’t do it. Our personal views will forever change the landscape of reality to suit us. That it is simply human nature. For writers, our worlds live in our minds. It is as real to us as the one we’re all forced to live in day after day. You, the reader, come visit our worlds for that very reason. We make our worlds so real you want to stay in them. Or at least we hope we do. How well we accomplish that is ultimately up to you to decide.

That out of the way let me sum up the creative process for you now in as few words as I can. Author sees world. Doesn’t like it. Creates his/her own. Then fills it with people and as much extras as we can. There, that is the best I can do without writing a self-help book. Who do I look like to you? Stephen King. Okay that may be a blog for later, but let’s get back on track.

Procrastination!

Procrastination is a defense mechanism. It allows our minds to wander and explore exactly what we’re trying to do. It can take many forms and I’d say half actually is creative process related. Since my editor may be reading this let me start with the—snort—most important one.

Research. Sometimes an author needs to find stuff out. Hey, this isn’t a technical manual. I can say stuff if I want to. Anyway, it’s true. We all base our writings in things we know but we don’t know everything. I do but that’s beside the point. We’d get bored writing about our hometowns and the idiot neighbors or coworkers who populate our lives. So we get out there and Wiki ourselves into a frenzy or go visit the places we want to write about. If we’re writers of Historical novels we immerse ourselves in whatever ever period we’re jumping into. Or, you could be like me and research talking monkeys. Yes there is a way to research talking monkeys. It’s called a Planet of the Apes marathon.

Reading. This one falls into the Distraction arena too but hey being an author means you have had to read at least one book once in your life. If you’re an author it probably means you’re reading a book while you’re reading this blog. Being an author isn’t just the joy of creating. Sometimes reading is just as much a part of the business as writing. Not to disillusion anyone, but they are things like market trends to consider. Okay, that sounded good to me. I just hope everyone else bought my feeble attempt to legitimize my book addiction. Nothing to see here. Let’s move on to the next topic.

Writer’s Block. See how all these Tions tie together? Writer’s block leads to Distraction, Frustration, and ultimately Procrastination as you try to figure out what in the hell is going wrong. I’m going to leave this one here, but again it could lead to a self-help book and nobody wants that from me.

Family. I don’t see this as a Distraction or Frustration. To me this is the only true excuse for Procrastination. As much as I love writing, I love my family more. If being tied to a computer means I miss those little moments I can never back, I’d rather not write a single word. All the accolades and fans in the world will never replace your child’s first steps, their graduation or a dinner with the person you love most in the world. Writing is many things but it’s not the sum total of existence. I write because my family fills me with love and the inspiration I need to create. Besides, a book won’t put you in a nursing home, if you ignore them.

This one has run a little longer than I’d planned but I’m almost to the end. So let me get this over with. Procrastination is a part of the creative process, as important as inspiration and the rest. It allows you to connect with the world and gives you the ability to step back and examine where you’re going with a book with a fresh eye and keeps you out of a 60 Minute type aged care facility. There is more to the story but Stephen King is calling to find out exactly what I meant in that paragraph up there and I’d just as soon be gone if he decides to send Pennywise to strong arm the answer out of me.

Until next week when we hit a whole new Tion, happy reading and avoid clowns with balloons.

Jmo

Opportunities to Win eBooks galore!

2009-08-27T13:32:00.004-05:00

Today is an awesome day! Lots and lots going on and you can find me bouncing my way around the net, starting with Lyrical Press's End of Summer Event.

My interview is up! Comment and you could win a copy of Cowboys Dream Too. Or comment just for fun and then check out the rest of the interviews so far. Lots of fun information about the authors and editors of LPI.

And if you haven’t entered yet, you have until the Aug 31 to get your entry in for the Alaska Heat Wave Contest

Just released, Morgan writing as Shea McMaster, Six Foot Hero You could win a copy by entering the Alaska Heat Wave Contest.

Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Get Some Tonight
http://morganqoreilly.com

Available Now From Lyrical Press
www.lyricalpress.com, Barnes & Noble, Amazon/Kindle, MobiPocket and Fictionwise
Frozen ~ eBook and Print
Chinook Wine and Sink Her ~ eBook
Cowboys Dream Too ~ eBook

Six Foot Hero ~ eBook

Available now from Cobblestone Press: Halo In Her Pocket

Maxwell's Fall by Tielle St. Clare

2009-08-26T03:59:00.000-05:00

Last, but certainly not the least of the Four Alaska Heat Wave New Releases this month, Tielle St. Clare and Ellora's Cave present the latest of her hot werewolf series. And this is one scorching author!

You have just a few days left to enter the Alaska Heat Wave Contest to win this book and the other three released last week. Send an email to contest@akrwa.org before August 31 to enter!

Maxwell's Fall
by Tielle St. Clare
Ellora's Cave
Genre: Paranormal

Never threaten a werewolf’s mate…it just pisses him off.

Mandy wants to prove her father’s innocence and her friend Jackson has agreed to help. Only he’s acting strange. In one day he’s gone from “mild-mannered accountant” to “bad-boy Sex God” and she can’t keep her hands off him. Now she every secret submissive fantasy she’s ever had seems possible, even necessary. It’s very distracting.

Max came to Alaska to check on his brother. But Jackson’s missing. And a cute little blonde is claiming to be Jax’s fiancé. That would be okay if Max’s wolf didn’t want her, bad. Mandy isn’t Max’s type. He likes bold and bitchy, not curvy and innocent. But when Mandy mistakes him for his brother, he goes along with the charade. And discovers that innocence hides some wicked tendencies.

Now he’s got himself into a real mess. He’s sleeping with a woman who thinks he’s his brother, his werewolf has developed a strange attraction for Jax’s very best, very male friend and there are the bad guys after Mandy.

This can’t end well.

http://tiellestclare.com/books-maxwellsfall.htm

Jmo on Frustration

2009-08-24T18:12:00.003-05:00

Last week I ranted on Distractions. So this week I decided to hit another ‘Tion’ that is the bane of authors. Yep, the dreaded Frustration. Some of you may confuse frustration with distraction but in my book they’re kissing cousins. One automatically leads to the other. Usually it’s the distraction that causes the frustration.

I’d like to say I’m not prone to it, but quite frankly I’m on the verge of coming off a long bout of it. For anyone who’s been a writer for long know that Frustration is just another word for writer’s block. The P.C. name for it I guess. There are a lot of other words that can be used to call it, but this is a family oriented forum. I won’t use them here, but if I can’t finish this thing, I might scare the dog with them out of your earshot of course.

What causes frustration?

Why do we suffer from it?

Where did all these questions come from?

You got it. A clear cut case of not knowing where to go with this blog. That’s the thing about stumbling over a word, a phrase, or what have you. It preys on your mind until you can’t see daylight anywhere. So let’s start here with the causes of Frustration.

When you’re writing, the mind can see exactly what’s happening. For me at least it’s like I have a movie playing in my head. All the little players are doing their thing and for all intents and purposes, everything is right in the world. Okay, so we got the fact the characters know what they’re doing, the plot is pretty much flying on autopilot and that’s where we hit the roadblock. Sometimes the mind can’t translate the film to words. I can’t tell you how many times, I re-watched a scene and all I could come up with was, see spot run when the last thing spot was doing was running if you know what I mean. Honestly, I’ve had books sit for weeks—heck months—before spot didn’t anything but go duh.

I wish I could say getting out of the literal quicksand was easy. The last thing it anyone would want to call it is easy. By the time, you finally get past duh, you’ve banged your head, followed every distraction in the world to take your mind off the scene, in some vain hope serendipity will kick in and the words will come. Truthfully, that is what it takes. You’ve got to go away. Books are like watched pots. They never come to a boil until you’re doing something else.

But sometimes it’s not the phrase that’s the thing holding you up. It’s the plot, or story idea itself. Just because you’ve got an idea doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good one. Sorry authors out there, but sometimes a Were-Pekinese isn’t a good idea—if ever. What I’m saying is, don’t get trapped in a bad idea. I’ve done it. I’m pretty sure a lot of writing have, too. My advice is step back or better yet, let someone you trust read it, before you start smashing laptops through TVs like some sad rock star. By trust, I don’t mean someone who loves everything you write, but someone who can be brutally honest. By the way, if you can’t take brutal honesty, you’re in the wrong business.
I’ve got to rambling so let me cut this short. There are many other causes of Frustration but they’re pretty much self explanatory. Bad day at work. Your head’s wrapped up in personal issues. They just canceled your favorite TV series. Basically life gets in the way.

Authors need to be centered, focused to write. To quote a great movie—Happy Gilmore in case you’re wondering—we need to be in our happy place, or sad place if that’s what drives you. Your family probably won’t help you get there. Your friends won’t understand. But, your fellow authors will and that’s what makes us family from another mother.

To all my Frustrated brothers and sisters out there, calm down, smell the roses and whatever you do, don’t let it get you down. If writing was easy, everyone would do it. That my friends, is why we’re unique, and the masters of all the worlds we create.

Jmo

Six Foot Hero once more strides across the land

2009-08-21T15:42:00.003-05:00

Once more available, Six Foot Hero is leaping off the eshelves at Lyrical Press, Inc. Two years ago when this first released with a publisher who closed, Romantic Times Reviews Magazine gave this then-debut novel a Four Star Review.

Re-edited, cleaned up and tightened up, it's an improvement on a an already good thing. See for yourself! Logan's still hot and hunky, but Nicole's a bit stronger and more worthy of him. Together they are hot and sweet.

Visit Alaska and tour Northern California. Fall in love again...

Sometimes a woman needs a hero.

Nicole Dahl has some hard decisions to make. Trapped by a job and the troubling attentions of a mentor, she breaks free temporarily on an Alaskan vacation. Once there, instead of the soul-searching and relaxation she'd planned, she meets Logan Schafer, a man who erases her loneliness with his strong, skilled hands.

Logan is mesmerized by Nicole's emerald eyes and beguiling sense of innocence, but he knows their pasts spell trouble for any hope of a future together. He has a prior claim to deal with once and for all, and Nicole's so-called mentor is a much bigger threat than she realizes.

Will Nicole let him be her hero?

For more Morgan books, check out Barnes & Noble, Amazon/Kindle, Fictionwise, and All Romance eBooks.

Shea McMaster / Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Get Some Tonight

Jmo on Distractions

2009-08-16T12:57:00.000-05:00

Being an author is all about distractions. Some good. Some bad. For me, writing is the greatest distraction in the world. Bad day at work. Write to wash it away. Kids getting on your nerves. Shut the door, slap on the earphones and write to drown them out. Spouse giving you the evil eye. Smile and write. Can’t comment further. She reads this. But, you get what I’m saying. Authors need to write to distract them from the hazards of being alive in an insane world. See, non-writers think we’re insane for writing, and we think they’re insane for not writing. Nice balance.

Yet, there are times when we’re just as insane as everyone else. You guessed it. When we’re not writing!!! Yep I like to call it, PMS, or Post-traumatic Muse Syndrome. Now, that I’ve giving it a snappy acronym, let’s get into the many causes for this distracting condition.

LIFE. Yep the reason you’re breathing and suffering is the leading cause. It’s hard to write when you’ve got a day job, bills that demand to be paid, a spouse who wants things fixed, cleaned, cooked, or generally done. Kids fall into this category too. Then you have crappy co-workers, bosses who can’t accept that writing is an integral part of your being and if the muse hits you, you’ve got to get it out of your system before you lose it. And, you’ve got a million other little things that throw your mind out of the game. Somebody cuts you off on the way, Wal-Hell not having Double Stuf Oreos when you want them, or a pushy bitch who snatches the last box. All these things and more can kill a good muse buzz quick.

TOO MANY IDEAS IN YOUR HEAD AT ONE TIME. This is the worst. Your muse is whispering so many good ideas in your ear, you can’t focus on just one. Believe me you can’t do them all at the same time. I’ve tried. I myself believe this is the way a muse uses her powers to get a short vacation.

EDITS. Sure they’re part and parcel of the game, but nothing kills a creative mood like getting handed a big reminder of all things you got wrong. Edits are learning experiences and you can’t grow without making mistakes. That’s what the rational mind has to say on the matter, but the insecure nail biting part is screaming, if I’m this bad, why do I keep trying? After a week or so, the author figures out they’re great and it’s the editor who needs help and we start writing again.

PROMO. Another part of the game, but one that kills a muse just the same. It never fails. When you’re on a roll, there is some event that you must show up for. As much as we love chatting with our fans, because we do and you’re the reason we’re doing this, writing is a disease just as insidious as anything bought on the street. It’s a monkey we don’t want off our back. If you take it away, you kill a part of us we can’t bear to lose, our sanity.

ONLINE SOCIAL COMMUNITIES. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter…evil each and every one. Hey, we’re adults but we’re just as prone to look at the shiny object as well as any kid under the age of 18. We get addicted to being close to both other authors and those who read our books and the muse goes along for the ride. By the time we’re ready to get to work and write, they’re still roaming around doing quizzes, playing Mobsters and generally making an ass of themselves socializing on our dime. BRB, must find out which movie psycho I am.

NEW BOOKS BY OUR FAVORITE AUTHOR. I fall into this trap and I know others do too. You’re writing your butt off and you look at the calendar. Damn, the new Sheri is out today. You say to yourself, I’ll start back writing when I get back from the store. Then it’s I’ll only read one chapter until I’ve only got thirty more pages to go, I’ll let that idea percolate while I finish this up. By the time you’re sighing to yourself, whatever train of thought you had going is just that… Gone!

TV, DVDS, VIDEO GAMES, ONLINE SODUKU, ETC… Need I say more.

FINALLY, YOURSELF. An author is the most destructive stumbling block to writing. We like to look at all the pretty things around us. We like to doubt our ability. We like to chat amongst ourselves about how we can’t write. We like to generally avoid writing. Mostly, we like to see a world that doesn’t exist except in our minds and sometimes we want the real world to be as great as the ones we create. When they don’t, it fills us with such a depression, we retreat into all those things above to escape the horror that our minds aren’t enough to reshape reality to reflect what we want. But, we can affect those who read our books. We can make you smile, laugh, cry and join us in wishing the world was as fantastic as the ones you read.

So, in short… I’m writing this blog to distract me from the fact I have too much to do, not enough time to do it, but as soon as I get this out of the way, I’ll get right on it. Yeah right. I still have a kabillion quizzes left to take on Facebook.

Six Foot Hero Coming Aug 17, 2009

2009-08-11T02:54:00.004-05:00

The return of Shea McMaster and Six Foot Hero, the story of Nicole and Logan that spans the glorious locales of Alaska and Northern California. From Midnight Sun to Napa Valley, from the Golden Gate to the Northern Lights, their story is freshened and updated, re-edited and re-released. Don't miss this specatular eBook, or the chance to lick those abs... ahem.

Okay, okay, getting a bit carried away, but this book is worth it!

Coming August 17, 2009. Brought to you by Lyrical Press, Inc. Look for it wherever ebooks are sold. Particulary Barnes & Noble, Amazon/Kindle, Fictionwise and other fine e-booksellers.

Win Four New Releases

2009-08-10T00:01:00.001-05:00

It’s an Alaska Heat Wave!

Enter to win one of the four new releases!
One Grand Prize Winner will receive a copy of all four books.
Four more will win one of the four books in a random drawing.

Send your name to
contest@akrwa.org

You may be added to the mail lists of the four authors and AKRWA

but you may unsubscribe at anytime. Names will be drawn randomly from all entries.

Contest begins August 10

and

ends August 31, 2009

Brought to you by
The Alaska Chapter
of the
Romance Writers of America
http://www.akrwa.org/
AKRWA is a non-profit organization and reaps no monetary reward from this contest

Count Down to School!

2009-08-08T18:18:00.003-05:00

Anyone else excited about Back to School?

This year it takes on a whole new meaning for me. College.

Yup, the one and only kid is going to college. It's not so simple as throwing bedding in a trunk and clothes in a duffel bag. Oh no. There's so much more to it all.

My kiddo is lucky, he knows his roommate. Friends from High School, they picked each other. Now we're coordinating who bring what. No, not food. Game and computer systems. Printers, microwave and fridge. Dishtowels and brooms. The laptop is on the way, Grandma bought the microwave, and as we speak the new towels and sheets are going through the wash. Next step, get them monogrammed because he chose colors too dark for me to mark with a Sharpie. Sigh.

And trying to get him to sort out his clothes... oy. I know guys are easier than girls in some respects, certainly when it comes to basic clothes, but in his own way he's as picky, if not pickier. We can't buy jeans because Old Navy doesn't have what he wants in stock at the moment, so he's heading off with only four pairs, most of which are on the ragged side, and we'll mail order later. He's looking at T-shirts, they have to be funny, but his brand of funny, not what Mom thinks is funny. Socks we're good on, but he needs more shorts. Coats, hats, gloves and scarves are covered (it gets to -60F where he's going), but we're still fighting about boots.

So here's a poem my mom found today and gave to my son. Written by my sister probably close to thirty years ago...

How was I to know when I was five, playing dolls and tinkertoys,
That with each stepping stone - first grade, second, third, fourth...
Its magnification would increase

From tinkertoys to spelling words, and the shadow grew
From spelling Bees to Algebra and the shadow grew more
From square roots to college boards and the shadow grew

The grade,
The grade,
The grade!

The almighty G.P.A.

Registration,
Pass or Fail
Graduation?

The Almighty G.P.A!

I think I'll email this to him once a month. Just to remind him, homework before gaming! We've already had the talk about drinking, drugs and parties. He and his roommate both are adamantly opposed to the bad stuff. Whew. One worry reduced.

What plans are you making for back to school? Shopping? Lunch out? Pedicures? Massages? New books to read? Talk to me, I want to hear. Me, I'll be trying to figure out how to do all the jobs he does around the house. Sigh.

Morgan Q. O'Reilly
Get Some Tonight

My books are now available at
Barnes & Noble, as well as Amazon, All Romance eBooks, and more. Be sure to search wherever you buy ebooks.

Six Foot Hero coming August 17 from Lyrical Press!

Courtesy of Rowena Cherry: 25 Tips for Buzzing an Author or Book

2009-05-18T00:01:00.001-05:00

My grandmother on the distaff side used to say, "If you've nothing nice to say, don't say anything..." Switch "nice" for "helpful" and you have my current philosophy.

I've recently been invited to become a contributing member of the blog "1st Turning Point", which got me thinking about what I have to offer (or pay forward), and I took a look at a 25 Ways to promo list which I assembled a while back. I'm astonished how important Amazon seemed three years ago. Now... I think my old list is out of date. So here's my new 25 point "To Do" list.

All authors for the purpose of this article will be considered female. (No sexism intended).

#1. Help the search engines find her. Why? Even if you know where to find your friend, her blog, and her books, “hits” help. The more visitors the search engine spiders find, the more priority the author's website gets. So: Google her. Ask Jeeves about her. Dogpile her. A9 search her. Use Alexa. Try a Yahoo search. Blog search. Search on Technorati. Even better, set up a Google Alert for her name, also common misspellings of her name, and for her book titles.

#2. Having “Searched” or been "Alerted", Visit… her website; blogs; author pages. If you may comment, do so. Everyone who takes the time to blog or post content is grateful when visitors comment. Human nature leads more people to read a post that has received a lot of comments.

#3 Follow. Favorite. Share. Google's Blogger, Twitter, Facebook "Pages", Squidoo lenses, You Tube videos and more allow you to become a follower or a fan. Do so. Connect wherever you can. It's good for both of you, because follower/fan photos show up.

#4 Click to read (and rate) any reviews she has written, or Lists she has set up. These days, anyone can make an EssentiaList on Barnes and Noble.com, a Listmania on Amazon.com, a Top Ten list on Chapters.Indigo.ca, also Listopia on GoodReads.com/ If you like her reviews or lists, click Helpful.

#5. If you see a good review of a book you've enjoyed—on any bookselling site that allows customers and visitors to comment on reviews-- click Helpful if it truly is a helpful review. Votes help both the reviewer and the author.

#6. Tag her books wherever you can. Amazon isn't the only place (Amazon isn't even one site… there's Amazon.ca, Amazon.uk, Amazon.de etc etc) Many book selling sites encourage readers to tag.

What is a tag? It's a search term that a reader might be using to find a type of book she likes, when she is looking for a new author. Some tags might be "Romance", "Fantasy", "Mystery", "Shapeshifter", "Georgian Romance", "Humor" or "Space Opera".

#7. When you are on an admired author's Amazon book page, click on links to:
Put it on your wish list, it’s extra, free advertising for the book. Tell a friend. Scroll down the book page to Tag this product. Or make a search suggestion).

#8. Join in the Customer/Reader discussions on her book page, or on the forums. Ask a question. Start a discussion. Hundreds of eyeballs scan the discussions on Barnes and Noble bookclubs. The search engines pick up on the discussions. The longer a discussion keeps going, the better the PR buzz for your friend. This does not just apply to Amazon and B&N. Discussion anywhere is "buzz".

#9. Review her book… Most people know that a customer can write a review on Amazon.com. There's a purchase requirement with Amazon (and I think with Barnes and Noble, too). However, many sites don't require a reader to have bought a book from them in order to post a review: GoodReads.com, Shelfari.com, LibraryThing.com, E-Bay, Powells, FlipKart, We-Read (on Facebook), NexTag etc etc.

#10. Smak her. Have you ever noticed the "Add This" or "Share" or "Recommend" widgets on online pages and on You Tube? If you think your author friend's blog, or news about her is interesting, syndicate the news to Digg It, Reddit, Technorati, Stumble Upon, Furl and as many of the other 40 or so sites as you have time and energy for. It's self promo when she does it. It's news when someone else does it.

Smak is SmakNews.com. News for women, posted by women.

#11. If the author has a reminder on a public calendar (Amazon has one, other sites have the function, too) for a booksigning near you, click on Remind Me Too. Booksignings are nerve-racking. Support is always appreciated, even if you don’t buy a book.

#12. If she lists an "Event", which one can on Facebook, GoodReads, and too many other places to mention, be sure to RSVP with a kind comment about the book.

#13. Make her a top friend on MySpace, Bebo etc, Give her book cover image as a "gift" on Facebook, with her permission, make her cover into a widget or tile it as a background, or keep it on the top page of your Shelfari/GoodReads/MyB&N display of what you are reading.

#14. If you have a MySpace page or Bebo.com, or Twitters, or Clasmates.com, or facebook.com, or theyack.com (and if you don’t, but really want to help, get one… it’s free) invite your author friends to be your friends there. Write a bulletin about your friend or her book. Add a comment on their profile page’s comments section. Your comment is their opportunity to say something about their book without the appearance of soliciting. Review their book on your MySpace blog. Or on You Tube!

#15. If her publisher has a forum, join it and ask her questions. For instance, Dorchester Publishing (home of Leisure and LoveSpell authors) has http://forums.dorchesterpub.com/

Again, your comment will be seen by hundreds, if not thousands, and it will give your friend a reason to post something interesting and quotable about her book without seeming to be self-promoting.

#16. If you have a blog or website, (and you should always secure your own domain name before you become famous yourself) publicize your friend’s upcoming signings/author talks/workshops on your blog. Mention her website URL. Link to your author friend’s website or blog on yours. Put her book as a 'must read' on your own site, or in your own newsletter. Have a list of links to authors you like, and blogs you enjoy.

#17. If you belong to readers’ group sites, or book chat sites, or special interest sites, post what you are reading. Plugs never hurt. These are also picked up on RSS feeds and the search engines.

#18. Join your favorite author’s yahoo group, let her know where you’ve seen her book in stores, or where you’ve seen discussions of her book, or reviews of her book.

#19. Drop in on her online chats to say how you enjoyed her book. Supportive friends at chats are cool because chats can be chaotic, and typing answers takes time.

#20. Tweet on Twitter about how much you are enjoying the book. Retweet or reply to any comments you see that promote the book, or the author.

#21. Offer to take a bunch of her bookmarks to conventions, or conferences, and make sure they are put in goodie bags, or on promo tables. Or simply visit her table at a convention, and sign up for her newsletter, or pick up her bookmark and tell someone else how good the book is. Offer to slip her bookmarks into your own correspondence when you pay bills, taxes, etc.

#22. Instead of quoting Goethe in your sig file, try quoting a line from your friend’s blurb in the week of her launch.

#23. Ask for her book in your local library. If they don't have it, maybe they will order a copy. If the library won't do that, ask if they would enter the book in their system if the author were to donate a copy to them. Once a book is in one library's system, it gets into the database for other libraries.

#24. If you see your favorite author’s books in a supermarket or bookstore: face her books (if there is room), turn one so the cover shows. Tell store personnel how much you like that book, or that the author is local. If you don’t see her books, especially when they ought to be there, ask about them.

#25. If you are connected on LinkedIn.com and your author friend is listed as "Author" or "Freelance Writer" or similar, consider "recommending her" on the strength of her writing. Recommendations on LinkedIn are intended to be for professional purposes.

Bonus Tip:
If you are an author buy colleagues' autographed books from them at booksignings to use in your own giveaways instead of always giving away your own books.

Rowena Cherry http://www.rowenacherry.com

What makes Rowena Cherry tick?:

My goal as an author is to give good value…to entertain. I expect to provide my readers with six to eight hours of amusement, a couple of really good laughs, a romantic frisson or two from the sensual scenes, a thoroughly satisfying Happy Ever After, something to think about when the book is finished.

My books are:
Forced Mate (2004)
Humorous, futuristic take on "abduction" Romances

Mating Net (e-book, short, politically incorrect)
The prequel to Forced Mate.

Insufficient Mating Material (2007)
A "SURVIVORMAN" endorsed, castaway romance

Knight's Fork (2008) Political satire.
Helen of Troy in outer space seeks reluctant sperm donor.

BIO
Rowena Cherry is unreliably psychic. She has exceptionally good hearing, an eye for detail, and a near-photographic memory. And, she’s lurked and observed from some of the world’s most glamorous and privileged vantage points. Of course, she’s also incredibly discreet!

Happy Saturday!

2009-05-16T14:18:00.008-05:00

Yes, I can finally say that! For once, a Saturday I got to sleep in. It's been at least three months where everyone in the house got to sleep in and it feels so good! Graduation is over (Isn't he so handsome? Magna Cum Laude) and summer is upon us! I need to get my flowers planted pronto!

Just a quick update on what is happening at TMD.

Jmo and I both had new releases from Lyrical Press on April 6. His (How Wicked-er Can She Go?) is short and funny. No one does comedy quite like Jmo and he always makes me laugh out loud for real. Mine (Cowboys Dream Too) is long and sexy. One reader "yelled" at me because the warning didn't include the instruction to keep toy or SO handy while reading. She loved it, and so did her husband. So reader be warned!

Did you know? Summer Solstice is just over a month away. If you haven't read Halo in Her Pocket, now is the perfect time! It takes place on the solstice in Alaska. A great way to celebrate!

Desert Breeze publishing has also opened. Headed up by the fabulous Gail R. Delaney - keep an eye out for her Phoenix Rebellion series this summer - Jmo has a release with them as well (Love Bites - Book One: Love at First Stake) and so does Helen Ravell, some of my favorite authors from days at Triskelion.

Speaking of Trisk, or rather my one release with them, written under the pen name Shea McMaster, Six Foot Hero, is on the schedule at Lyrical to be re-released this coming August! We're in the middle of working the cover art now so I hope show if off any day now. The book will updated and I've got the chance to fix a few things I wasn't quite happy with in the original. It will be better than ever!

Just remember, every once in a while a girl needs a hero. Nikki will take hers to go...

As usual, we're open for questions! Have a question or comment about Romance burning in your tummy? Ask away! We'll do our best to answer, or research the answer. Questions like, where the heck does Jmo come up with his ideas??? How hot is Morgan that she sets her oven on fire and has to call the fire department? And will she ever stop with the FaceBook quizzes? What's coming next for The Morgans? What are Alaska men really like? Seriously. What do you read in your off time? What's on the TBB or TBR list?

I'm also open to suggestions on what to do with an 18 yo new HS graduate who is heading off to college in 3.5 months.

Got Tagged?

2009-04-30T13:24:00.004-05:00

I found this at Erotic Horizon who has Cowboys Dream Too up next on her TBR pile.

I hope you decide to play too! To complete the meme answer the following questions:

1. What are your current obsessions? Card Making. With graduation for the teen just around the corner, and I forgot to buy the promo pack last fall... Yeah. I need to make some cards. Fast.

2. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often? I work at home, so jammies are always my first choice. The Fed Ex guy looks jealous every time he comes by.

3. What's for dinner? Reservations! FIL's b-day is tomorrow, but we have graduation event plans.

4. Last thing you bought? Lunch out with the writer girls.

5. What are you listening to? Fighter jets from the nearby base streaking overhead, practicing their stuff. Birds singing and my indoor fountain when the jets are elsewhere.

6. What are you watching now or the latest movie you watched? TV hasn't been on in days, but I'm thinking hot Englishmen. Research for the book I just finished the first draft of. I mean it. I want to make sure I have the modern nuances correct. Oops, guess that rules out Pride and Prejudice.

7. Favourite holiday spots? Anywhere with a nice soothing beach works. Doesn't even have to be tropical. I just want to hear the waves and feel the breeze.

8. Reading right now? Witching Moon by Rebecca York and Hex Appeal by Linda Wisdom. Both got pushed aside while I finished that first draft.

9. What will you be reading next? Probably something by Lora Leigh. Either that or the graduation roll... or something from my extra high TBR pile.

10. Four words to describe yourself. Introvert, Quiet/Shy, Focused, Quirky

11. Guilty pleasure? Dove Milk Chocolate.

12. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak? My Son and the things he finds on YouTube. His friends are always good for a laugh too.

13. Favourite spring thing to do? Open the windows and blow out 9 months of stale winter air.

14. Planning to travel to next? No big plans, probably drive the kid to college.

15. Best thing you ate or drank lately? Hoping for fresh Halibut tonight (see note about reservations).

16. When did you last get tipsy? It's been a while. Sometime last fall.

17. Favourite ever film? While You Were Sleeping always makes me feel good. Depends on my mood really, but I generally go for romantic comedy when given the choice. Living with two guys (DH and DS), I rarely get a choice.

18. Care to share some wisdom? Work to the best of your ability, but always leave room for a laugh and some lovin'.

19. Song you can't get out of your head? Jimmy Buffet - When the Volcano Blows (Still waiting for Mt Redoubt to just get it over and done with.)

Please consider yourself tagged and have fun with this and be sure to leave me a comment when you've completed it.

Morgan O'Reilly
Come Play with Me and Get Some Tonight
http://morganqoreilly.com

April Showers bring... Cowboys and Witches?

2009-04-05T16:37:00.003-05:00

That doesn't sound right, but that's how Morgan O. and J Morgan are doing it this year. Instead of showers, we're unleashing hot oil massages, romantic horseback rides, unadulterated wickedness, celery naughtiness, and enough Magic to fuel your Dreams.

So shove those umbrellas back in the closet and stay in. With stories this fantastic, why go out, when you can curl up and read your way through pollen season? We hear Summer is going to be really slimming this year.

A message brought to you by Morgan O, Jmo and the Lyrical Tourism Board.

Available Monday, April 6, 2009

How Wicked-er Can She Go? by J. Morgan http://www.lyricalpress.com/how_wickeder_can_she_go

Cowboys Dream Too by Morgan Q. O'Reilly http://www.lyricalpress.com/cowboys_dream_too

Note: Wearing funny hats while reading optional.

New Releases Coming April 6

2009-03-29T00:22:00.008-05:00

Yup, you read that right. Releases, as in plural.

First up, J.Morgan's How Wicked-er Can She Go?

Go Wild, Get Wicked!

Nikki is as wicked as they come.

Yeah, right -- She's the wickedest witch you'll ever meet, if "wicked" means perky as all get out, and living off a trust fund. When her boss lays down the law, she actually has to work for a living and her world comes tumbling down. Ruining an uber geek's chance to find true love sounds easy until Gregory Hamilton shows up on her doorstep. He may be a nerd, but one look tells her this is a man with super stud possibilities.

Turning on her inner wicked, Nikki does everything she can to prove true love ain't all it's cracked up to be.

Next is the Cowboy story you've been waiting for, Cowboys Dream Too

Even a cowboy can dream of a Celtic goddess... But is it just a dream?

From the first time he dreamed of his perfect woman, Gray Dunbar was no longer satisfied by his pre-ordained future on the family dude ranch. She's leading him on, away from Colorado and around the world, until he can't stay away from home any longer.

Reed O'Brien needs a vacation. Her boss's company is falling apart. When a proposed trip to a dude ranch retreat comes along, she jumps at the chance. A stop in Vegas gets the ball rolling -- especially when she meets the one man her boss would love to put out of business.

Is this destined to be war...or love?

Warning, contains explicit sex, carnal massages, and inventive riding lessons.

April is an exciting month, so keep your eye and out be ready to pounce on April 6 when these books go live at Lyrical Press!

Nominations and Accolades, Oh My!

2009-01-03T09:53:00.004-06:00

It's that time of year when sites start accepting nominations and votes for the best reads of 2008. How much they do to help promote a writer, I'm not sure, but it is most flattering when reviewers and readers make the nominations. Sometimes it's hard to tell if the authors have nominated themselves. It's really hard to tell who has the most readers or the most friends. I suppose in part, these are popularity contests. But in a way they're fun and a refreshing way to get your name out there. And if you win, it's a new entry on your email sig line, right?

So, without further ado, some nominations for The Morgans and a few of our Friends.

Preditors and Editors (Voting is open through Jan 14):

Print/Electronic Romance Novel published in 2008
All Fore Revenge - Piper Denna
Chinook Wine and Sink Her - MorganO
Frozen - MorganO

Print/Electronic Science Fiction & Fantasy Novel published in 2008
Bright Star - Grayson Reyes-Cole
Frozen - MorganO

Print/Electronic Erotica Novel published in 2008
The Merry Widow - Adriana Kraft
Bid for Love - Savannah Chase
The Arrangement - Cat Grant
Giving Thanks - Maura Anderson
The Werewolf Whisperer - Ericka Scott

Romance Short Story published in 2008
Elfing Around - J. Morgan (Jmo to y'all)
Mayan Secrets - Ciar Cullen

Book/e-book Cover Artwork published in 2008
All Fore Revenge - Renee Rocco/Piper Denna
Frozen - Renee Rocco/MorganO
Halo In Her Pocket - Tuesday Dube/MorganO
Taming the Beast - Renee Rocco

Authors Page
A bazillion names here, including mine. Good luck chosing!

There are several other sections to vote, including editor (we like Emma Wayne Porter of Lyrical), Publisher (Hmm, Lyrical looks good), and Bookstore (Once Upon a Bookstore - Lyrical again). Have fun perusing the lists and making your choices!

Love Romances Cafe and More

If you're a member of their Yahoo Group, you can vote. Chinook Wine and Sink Her is up for best contemporary of 2008. Voting starts at Noon on January 5.

So many many wonderful authors/books to vote for. We hope you take a look and make your mark for your favorites. And if your favorites happen to be us, well then, we'll be pleased as punch, tickled pink, drooling with joy... I think you get the idea. The point being, it's time to excercise your right to vote and let your voice be heard. Support your favorite authors!!

And if you belong to GoodReads, be sure to Friend Me! Just look for Frozen or Chinook and you'll be able to connect.

Morgan O'Reilly

Interview: Adriana Kraft

2009-01-02T01:01:00.001-06:00

Talk about your split personalities. Today we welcome into our offices Adriana Kraft, two people trapped in the same author. This duo has been dealing sizzling hot stories all over the place, and we are honored to have them with us today. It's like the best twofer in the history of Blogs.

TMD: Adriana welcome to the diaries. Kraft welcome to the diaries. Well, it's not like we know which is which, and it'd be impolite to only say hello to one of them.

AK: Actually, a long time ago (it seems), TwoLips dubbed us “Adri” (him) and “Ana” (her) - that works! Mostly on line it’s just been “Ana” with my hot legs logo created by Cassidy McKay - but in January we’re rolling out a new signature logo for “Adri” and he’ll actually start participating in chats, too - watch for us together at Midnight Seductions on January 4th!

TMD: Before we get into your fantastic books, we just got to ask. How many fist fights have broken out during the course of a story? And who usually takes lead in the writing?

AK: Nope, no fist fights. Don’t believe in violence. Some tough disagreements, sometimes - we just have to wait it out and see what the characters tell us. We plot together, then one of us puts the “don’t look down” draft on the page, and we read each day’s production out loud and process it before moving ahead to the next segment. Then when it’s done we both edit madly. Over and over.

TMD: Has writing together strengthened your relationship as a couple or given you any narsty ideas that we'll never see in print?

AK: Yes, to both! We’ve worked together lots across our professional careers - co-facilitated groups, taught classes, conducted social science research projects together, stuff like that - but co-writing has really made us dig deep and figure out how to handle conflict better. We have to be respectful but clear about what we think doesn’t work and why and it’s brought us lots closer. Narsty ideas? Sure, lots of fun and naughty ones! But will you see them in print??? Hmm, the line between fantasy and reality is always a thin one...

TMD: Every author experiences writer's block. Do you find it easier to deal with since you're two brains sharing the same page?

AK: Absolutely! Every step of our writing process involves both of us, so when the plot gets stuck, we talk it out and generate ideas (or let the characters in both our heads set us straight). Even so, there are times in everyone’s life when writing has to take a back seat. A member of our family went into hospice care this past August and died in November, and we had to ask our publisher to readjust some release dates because we needed a break from writing and meeting deadlines.

TMD: Now that we've got our curiosities satisfied, tell us about your newest release?

AK: Mistress of Purgatory Point is available from Extasy as of yesterday. It features an older heroine who finds the fabulous love she deserves and has a lot of fun along the way. Like nearly all our heroines, she discovers she’s easy playing with either gender, so there are some hot f/f scenes as well as m/f and f/m/f. Not to mention the two ghosts...Here’s the blurb:

Not quite fifty, recently widowed Martha Richards has just purchased the old sturdy house at the tip of Purgatory Point overlooking Minnesota’s Boundary Waters. She and her pastor husband often dreamed of retiring there on their summer canoe trips. Now, she welcomes the solitude and time to hone her jewelry making craft.

Forest Ranger Dan Ford, her reticent neighbor to the south, thinks the aloof newcomer has no clue what it takes to survive North Woods winters. Reluctantly, he volunteers to help her prepare the place for the inevitable blizzards.

Martha is shocked when local shop owner Natalie Bjorg says her jewelry exudes erotic passion. Natalie doesn’t stop there, but explains that as the new Mistress of Purgatory Point, Martha now holds the key to release its two ghosts: Ben and Stella have been trapped between worlds for nearly a century, waiting for an owner of their home to discover a love that matches their own and set them free.

One man, two women and two ghosts keep love’s fires burning through the deep chill of a North Woods winter—but which love will hold the key?

We set this story in one of our longtime favorite summer haunts - the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota; and there’s one character left out of the book’s happy ending, so the sequel Return to Purgatory Point is due out in March. Not gonna say which one, though!

TMD: Who comes up with the basic plots, or do you have long plotting sessions over small tables with coffee and perfectly sculpted petit fours?

AK: No petit fours at our house! Hot coffee and bagels, more likely! And yes, long plotting sessions, at every stage of production. Ideas get started with either of us - something we’ve seen, an image that’s surfaced, a place we’ve travelled. We keep lists of potential plots and characters. Then once we’ve figured out which one to write next we spend long hours developing the background of the characters, identifying what they care about, devising obstacles to throw in their way, doing on-line research (like gypsy history, for our Holiday special Santa’s Boss), stuff like that. It can take weeks of work at this level before a word even goes on the page. Lots of this back-story never appears in front of the reader, but it shapes our characters and drives their reactions. We think it knits the stories together and helps make them real.

TMD: What inspired your first book, the one where you decided you could do this and needed to launch it out into the world?

AK: Oh my! I think we toyed with the idea for a long time before deciding to take the plunge, taking workshops, writing a range of types of stories and getting feedback from writers groups and contests, starting in 2000. Lots of submissions to NY agents and print publishers, lots of nibbles and close calls but no sales. None of those books were erotic romance, but we got consistent feedback that we wrote great sex and handled sexual tension well. That’s about when erotic romance really burst onto the scene in the e-pub world, and that seemed a natural place for us to try to land. We haven’t looked back!

Our very first erotic romance sale was almost three years ago, a love story called Colors of the Night, to one of many now-defunct e-pubs. It debuted to a perfect score from TwoLips, not bad for our first outing! We’re thrilled that Extasy has contracted with us to re-release it now that our rights have reverted to us. It’s scheduled for July, 2009.

TMD: Many writers called their books, their babies. How large a family do you plan to grace us with?

AK: There’s no limit! We love doing this and plan to keep doing it as long as we’re able and the stories flow. We have nine books contracted for 2009, lots still on the back burner to polish and pitch, and we hope to keep writing long into the future.

TMD: Okay, we got to throw you guys for a loop. If you were the stars of a romance novel, who'd be the swashbuckling pirate and who would be the damsel, or damsmale, in distress? And who looks better in the pirate costume? We know you got one handy

AK: That’s a funny question. Me, I love pirates (Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp) and I promise Adri loves wenches and damsels in distress - but we never write heroines who actually need to be rescued. We like strong women who have resources to save themselves, and men who are strong enough to deserve them. Costumes? Not gonna say, but there’s lots of inspiration in our closet for the fantasy scenes we create in our fiction...

TMD: This doesn’t have anything to do with writing but inquiring minds—Morgan O’s—want to know. Who controls the remote?

AK: Adri. ‘Nuff said.

TMD: if you had the chance to write another genre, what would you like to try your hands at the most?

AK: We’d love to do more historical erotic romance - even in our contemporary books, we do lots of historical research and sometimes send characters back in time-travel mode. We just finished a short story set in Wales about 400 a.d. that’s now contracted at Extasy. Adri’s part Welsh so that’s been some very interesting research!

TMD: As long as we got you firmly entrenched in the romance genre, what new bits of hotness do you have coming up?

AK: So glad you asked! Our quintessential Bi heroine Meghan Keenan is coming out with her five book series at Whiskey Creek Torrid starting in April. The series is called “Meghan’s Playhouse” and will be available in both print and e-book form. Here’s more about that series:

We like to think we’re the ones who create our characters, but sometimes we wonder! When the two of us began writing our erotic romance novella Seducing Cat we envisioned a lighthearted sexy romp, so we invented Meghan Keenan: a young, energetic and playful small town actress with Broadway dreams. Turns out she’s a modern day Aphrodite - sharing love in the most up close and personal way, and bringing other couples together in the process.

Because both of us are academics who somehow never learned how to be stuffy, we love creating characters who are college professors and throwing challenges at them. One of us comes from four generations of academicians, and the other from a longer string of farmers and blue collar workers, so we thought it would fun to make a pair of characters struggle with such differences. On top of that we added an age difference, so thirty-four year old English Professor Caitlin Shanahan has to overcome a double set of prejudices to fall in love with her brawny mid-twenties carpenter, Kurt Davis - actually Meg’s carpenter, when the book opens. Not that he doesn’t have some biases too, especially against stuffy professors!

What we didn’t foresee was that once launched, Meg has a trajectory all her own. The world is her apple, and she’s going to taste every bit of it and maybe spread some pleasure on the way. We’re grateful she’s willing to share her adventures with us so we can get them on the page - we think readers will be grateful, too!

TMD: Thanks for putting up with our silliness today. Didn’t know what you let yourself in for, did you? But before you run screaming out the door, let our readers know where they can find you on the web? I’m sure after this, they’ll be dying to know. If for nothing else to give you the numbers of some great therapists.

AK: LOL! Here’s the scoop:
Website: http://www.adrianakraft.com/
Yahoo Newsletter Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adrianakraftnewsletter/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/adrianakraft
Midnight Seductions Authors: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidnightSeductions/