7/20/2011

Giving Up- Excerpt

Giving Up- Truth or Dare book 3
Release Date: August 5th



Can Brandon Blake change? 


He stood automatically, reaching out to shake her hand in greeting and murmuring polite good mornings.  A slight heat rose in his cheeks and he hoped to hell the blush wasn’t visible.  And why the fuck a simple handshake for the doctor should cause him to blush he didn’t know, but something about her made him feel self-conscious and uncertain in ways he hadn’t felt since he was a wild sixteen year old serving as his beautiful mother’s escort to Hollywood’s wild parties.

            He stiffened his spine and forced himself to meet those sharp blue eyes, unwittingly squeezing her hand just a little too tightly.  He watched as the blue eyes flared wide then narrowed, and Dr. Grey gently removed her hand from his.  The flush on his cheeks grew and he felt his stomach churn alarmingly.  He and Trick were about to have more in common than he’d ever thought possible if he couldn’t calm down soon. 

            Dr. Grey led him into her office and he took the same seat he normally did on the plush leather chair in front of the desk.  Somewhat surprised, he noticed that instead of taking the chair adjacent to him as she usually did Dr. Grey seated herself behind the neat steel and glass desk.  Crossing her hands on the desktop, she met his questioning gaze calmly, and Brandon let out the breath he hadn’t realized he held.  His roiling emotions calmed as he took in her stillness, and even his churning stomach was soothed.  This was different, but not wrong. 

            Or so he thought until she spoke. 

            “I’m afraid, Brandon, that I can’t keep you on as patient any longer.”

            Panic flared.  “What? Why not?”  His stomach heaved and he forced himself to breathe deeply through his nose, swallowing rapidly to prevent the consequences of the sudden lurch.  Nothing of his feelings showed on his face.  He had twenty-three years of practice at making sure of that. He couldn’t have heard correctly. 

            “Because I can’t help you in a professional capacity.  I’ve given you the tools to manage your problem, you’re an intelligent man and you can resolve your issues from here on your own.”  Her voice remained the same as it always had, soothing and cool, her gaze untroubled and calm. 

            Damn. How had he come to depend on that calmness in such a few meetings?  How would he deal without the soothing effect her voice had on his nerves and stomach?  Quickly pulling in resources to hide the shocking sense of abandonment he suddenly felt, Brandon grasped the tiny thread of anger and blew it up. 

            He surged upright and waved his phone in her face.  “Fuck.  I could have been at the office heading off a dozen major crises!  See this?  It’s called a cell phone. I have it with me all the time.  Next time you need to change our plans, use it!”

7/19/2011

In the Kitchen with LeeAnn Sontheimer Murphy

JULY release - Kinfolk (Champagne Books) by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Some of my ideas spring full-blown from the muse and others start with a single line.  KINFOLK began as a line - the exact sentence did not survive into the final cut but the original idea was "She stepped off the bus in Springdale, Arkansas. " I had the image of a woman, fleeing some kind of danger who went home to her native Arkansas to hide even though Arkansas had become an unfamiliar place to her.    This story holds a special place in my writer's heart because, although not the first to find publication, it was the first of my longer fiction works to net a contract.   When it debuts this July, it represents the fruition of years of hard work and the realization of dreams.   The dedication is to my grandmother, Granny, who could have been a writer of amazing power if she had the opportunity.   It's a long tale but in essence, she told me as a teen, noting my  budding way with words, that although she couldn't become a writer so I did.   

Blurb:

   
The last thing that writer Katherine Vaughn expects when she flees California for her native Arkansas is to fall in love, especially not with a former Navy SEAL and her cousin’s widower. Nor did she expect that the thugs seeking retribution for her late husband’s drug debts would follow her back to Arkansas.
As she and Ben Hatfield fall in love, their happiness faces trials that include an unexpected illness and his grandfather’s death. After Ben’s apparent death, Katherine has little time to mourn after the California drug lord’s minions kidnap her in a final effort to collect on the debt. Her life is in jeopardy as she wonders if there is any hope left in her heart.
Kinfolk is a novel about the power of love.

And recipe....since Katherine loves to cook old-fashioned, down home country food, here is her biscuit recipe:

Baking Powder Buttermilk Biscuits
Ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 soft shortening
1 cup buttermilk

Sift flour into large mixing bowl.  Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Cut shortening into the dry mixture using either a pastry knife or two forks.  Make a hole in the center and pour the buttermilk into it.  Blend gently until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough onto a large floured surface (cutting board, platter, etc.).  Kead about a dozen times until dough becomes pliable and then roll out to about a 1 inch thickness.  Cut with a bsicuit cutter and place on a prepared cookie sheet or biscuit pan.  Bake 10-12 minutes in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven or until brown.

7/18/2011

Story Orgy Presents: Just A Cat

Greeting Story Orgy Readers!  
Welcome to another Monday of M/M Romance fun!  
Just a few announcements to get out of the way here, first!  
Story Orgy is taking reader prompts for a December, holiday themed Anthology.  Email your person, place and thing to storyorgy@ymail.com by July 31 and your Orgiasts will spend the dog days of summer writing a holiday story just for you!  
In other news, you can like us on Face Book for all the latest news about the Orgy.  Also, several Orgiasts participated in the Hot July Days event sponsored by the Good Reads M/M Group over at Good Reads.  If you're not a member there, join up.  The Hot July Days event alone brings you 113 free reads!  There's always tons of fun to be had perusing the picture threads or skimming the various book threads.  When I"m looking for something to read, that's where I head!  

Thanks as always to the lovely Jade Baiser who spoils us with her beautiful art.  This particular picture was particularly heart wrenching, don't you think?

 Just A Cat

Flip Walters didn’t care that Trey’s Friday night flirt had evidently become a Saturday morning something else.  He didn’t care that the beefy blond with the bold green eyes was looking him over with evident interest either.  Actually, that part was the least surprising of all, as he stood in the doorway of Trey’s plebian little apartment in a nondescript little neighborhood wearing a pair of swim shorts and his trademark flip flops and nada.  He knew he looked good, he spent enough money making fucking sure of it.  Not that looking good had ever gotten him what he really wanted in life.  It hadn’t even been enough to keep the one thing that had always been his, as long as he could remember.  Still, it was habit.  He kept it up, the salon visits, the shopping expeditions, the gym, the tanning; it was all he had left, all he was good for.  He was Flip.  Irreverent and useless, but charming and decorative, indulged by his parents, grandparents, friends and family. 
Right now though, he didn’t care about any of it.  The money, the credit cards, the fast cars and party loving friends.  The only time in his life that he’d felt as miserable as he did right now, had been six months ago when Trey, Terrence Albright Richards III, had packed his bags and moved out of the elegant, sexy little loft they shared. He didn’t even care about the havoc Trey’s decision had wreaked on his life. 
All he cared about was getting to Trey, feeling Trey’s comforting arms wrap around him.  Muscles could stand there and watch him cry too, he didn’t fucking care about that either.  He’d gotten used to crying in the last six months, had resigned himself to bursting into tears at odd moments.  But this was different. This was the last straw.  He survived Trey’s departure.  He couldn’t take any more loss.
Maybe he shouldn’t have come here, maybe he didn’t have that right any more, and maybe Muscles would be within his rights to shut the door in his face.  He didn’t really know what the guy was to Trey, and if his world were more concrete at this moment, he might be prepared to feel angry or even jealous that Trey had replaced him so quickly and with someone who was so obviously, just more, than Flip would ever be. 
But he wanted Trey now, needed Trey, and there had never really been a time in his life before when Trey hadn’t been there for him when he needed him, or even wanted him. He had to have faith that there was this much left between them, that Trey would be there for him one more time.
“Yes?” Muscles asked, sounding cautious.
“Trey,” Flip pushed the word out, twisted to see around the blond into the dreary depths of the apartment. 
“Does he know you?” Muscles asked dubiously, giving Flip the eye from top to bottom, lingering in places that would have made Flip preen a year ago.
Does he know me? What the fuck? Flip dashed at the tears on his cheeks, and scowled at Muscles.  “Of course he fucking knows me.  I’m Flip.”
The blank stare that garnered pissed him off.  Everyone in his life knew who Trey was. Six months apart and Trey didn’t even mention him? “My picture is on his nightstand by the bed.  We’ve known each other forever.  “Trey!” He yelled. 
“Who is it?” Trey came up from the depths of the apartment, a white terry cloth towel wrapped about his waist and peered over Muscles’ golden shoulder at Flip.  His sleepy eyes widened in surprise.
The sight of Trey hit him in his weakened state like a physical blow.  Flip tried to remember whose fault it was that he hadn’t seen Trey for six months.  Probably his.  Everything eventually ended up at his door.  He could have called, could have come around and seen Trey.  Could have let his hurt and pride go sooner. 
As expected though, Trey reached immediately for Flip, bumping hips with Muscles to get him to step aside. “Flip, what is it? Come in.”
Flip cast a scathing glance at the sheepish looking pile of muscles.  “I need you.” That was the bottom line.  He walked into Trey’s comforting arms and felt the ache in his heart ease a bit.  Trey would know what to do. Trey always knew what to do.
“Of course.”  Flip’s world narrowed to the blue of Trey’s sympathetic eyes, the familiarity of his face.  He was vaguely aware of the door shutting behind them as he let Trey guide him through the living area of the apartment. 
He barely registered the bleak pedestrian look of the place, a stark contrast to the uptown loft he and Trey had shared a year ago.  Their place had been sleek and sexy, minimalist and expensive.  This place was closed, cramped and looked to be furnished from an IKEA yard sale.  Definitely not the sort of environment to let Trey shine. 
But when Trey’s dad lost everything and Trey had to get a job, he’d refused to live with Flip in the loft anymore.  Turned out his oldest friend, best friend, lover, had more pride than either of them could stomach.  He wouldn’t let Flip support them, wouldn’t live where he couldn’t contribute equally to their expenses.  Which was fine.  Except he wouldn’t hear of Flip sacrificing any part of his charmed life so they could be together either. 
In the end, Flip couldn’t stand the place without Trey, so he’d sold it and moved back home. His parents were thrilled.  He didn’t care.  Home was as good a place to be as any other without Trey. 
And that’s where his new trouble came from. Six months ago he’d been so furious, so betrayed, he’d stupidly sold the loft, and disposed of all the things he’d had there that reminded him of Trey.  Everything from their past was gone.  No pictures, no vacation souvenirs, concert tickets or art.  Everything was gone except one thing, and now he was losing that too.  It just wasn’t fair.
He allowed Trey to lead him to the patio overlooking the pool.  Ewww.  He hoped to God Trey didn’t actually swim in that public venue.  Flip felt Trey’s arms wrap around him, and they leaned back against the building, Trey’s whisper a soft caress against Flip’s ear.  Any other time he would have reacted strongly to the familiar pose, the perfection of feeling, physical and emotional that came with Trey’s closeness. 
But now, he couldn’t pull his mind from the mire, the grief that threatened to overwhelm him.  He’d made it this far, and now with the security of Trey’s arms around him, his voice soothing away the terror he felt, he could say it.  He could. 
“She’s dying, Trey and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”


 If you enjoyed my post this week, hop on over to the other Orgiasts and see what they've done with our beautiful artwork today! 




7/17/2011

Because I Love It


Thanks to Story Orgy's JR Boyd for posting this.  I love the video- the song's all right too... <3

7/13/2011

Giving Up- Truth or Dare- Book 3



Giving Up- Truth or Dare  Book 3
Released August 5th


Can Dr. Arden Grey teach Brandon Blake that giving up control is worth while, with the right woman?




Brandon Blake has a problem.  His family is fed up with his controlling ways. They don’t need him managing their affairs any more.  Brandon doesn’t want to lose his connection with his brothers, but he doesn’t know any other way to live.   He’s been in charge for a long time. Now his brothers are leaving home and making families of their own, and Brandon’s interference has caused some serious rifts. Brandon’s’ stressful job as CEO of the family production studio and his concerns for his brothers have contributed to the ulcer his doctor recently diagnosed. Therapy is supposed to help Brandon learn how to let go and give up the need to control every thing.  Brandon finds the counselor he’s been sent to intriguing, if a bit intimidating, though she has absolutely nothing in common with the women he’s dated in the past.
 
Dr. Arden Gray knows about control.  A survivor of marriage to a dominant, abusive partner, she’s spent the last twenty years turning her life around.  She’s learned to take control and has made a career of teaching others to do the same.  Brandon Blake is a surprise.  When his doctor sends Brandon to her, Arden isn’t sure how she can help the man.  But after a few sessions, she sees something intriguing hidden inside Brandon Blake, something that tells her he just might be the man she’s been looking for.  If only she can convince him that giving up control to the right woman will solve all his problems!




7/12/2011

Recipes I Love: Thai Green Curry

Thai Green Curry 



Ingredients
2 tablespoons green curry paste
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 cans (5.6 oz each can) coconut milk
1 cup sliced chicken breast
30-40 Thai eggplant, mini size
6-8 kaffir lime leaves, each leaf torn in two
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon sugar
5 Thai chile peppers
fresh basil leaves for garnish

In a wok, heat the oil and fry the curry paste for one minute. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add chicken, eggplant and kaffir lime leaves. Season with fish sauce and sugar. Keep on medium heat until chicken is cooked, then add basil and chile peppers. Serve with freshly-steamed Thai jasmine rice.


Okay- that's the recipe from ImportFoods.com ~ and here's how we changed it at our house... 

used regular eggplant, sliced zucchini, and carrots ~ cause we're trying to eat more veggies and less meat... it was good

used sweet basil leaves from the garden instead of lime leaves, but you can get the lime leaves fresh at Import Foods, too if you want them.  

And we threw in a can of diced green chiles in place of the Thai chiles... 

Served over pineapple Basmati rice- we prefer it to Jasmine rice in general

7/06/2011

Cover Art for Giving Up

Beautiful New Cover Art for Giving Up- Truth or Dare Book 3
Release Date: August 5th




7/05/2011

In the Kitchen: More Cookie Making

Made these the other day.  I was bored.  They looked damned good.  Guess what?  They taste even better.  

Cherry Magic Cookie Bars






"A graham cracker crust is topped with chocolate chips, cherries and coconut in a chewy caramel layer."
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND®
Sweetened Condensed Milk
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries,
drained, patted dry and chopped
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
DIRECTIONS:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F for glass baking pan). In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan.
2.
Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.
3.
Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com
Printed from Allrecipes.com 6/20/2011

DIRECTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F for glass baking pan). In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan.
2.Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork.
3.Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.com

7/01/2011

Breathless Press Newsletter: Answering Your Questions

Hi, readers!  Just got this in fresh from the Marketing Desk at Breathless Press, thought I'd share with you so you can participate in the fun! 


Do you have a question for one of the Breathless Press authors? Are you a writer and have a question for an editor? Maybe you're a reader and want a few recommendations specially tailored for you?

If so we have just the thing. Starting next week we will be answering readers questions in our newsletter.

Please send your questions to marketing@breathlesspress.com with Newsletter Question in the subject line. We look forward to reading your questions.

6/30/2011

Sizzling Summer Reads

 


On July 1, The Romance Reviews will be hosting the

Sizzling Summer Reads (Erotic and GLBT)

and it promises to be an awesome event!
Thank you for being a part!


My Q&A will appear on July 8 and 26.








Hey Readers!


You need to register at TRR before you can play the game.

Go here and register now,

then log in on July 8th and 26th for chances to win

Keeping House and Telling the Truth!






6/29/2011

Now Available :Telling the Truth


Available at

Telling the Truth
Truth or Dare
book 2


The Blake brothers have upped the ante in their weekly poker game. The week Terry loses, he finds that paying his debt of telling the truth sets him free to pursue a fantasy he never dreamed could be reality.


Terry has lived his life according to the guidelines, by studying accounting, getting an MBA, and working for the family business. And while his work has its own rewards, something has been missing, and his eyes have only just been opened to what--or rather who--that could be.

Terry's brothers have upped the ante in their weekly poker game. A Truth or Dare challenge.  Terry can handle any dare his brothers dish out, but the demand for Truth is a different matter. Unable to hide behind his pristine reputation and fancy business suit, Terry is honor bound to divulge secrets he’s been ashamed to admit even to himself in the privacy of his own bedroom.

Twins Dex and Trick have finally found acceptance for their relationship in the homes of their friends. They would never do anything to jeopardize that newfound sense of belonging. Fooling around with Mischa’s prissy, domineering, oh-so-sexy older brother is risky. A one night stand might be okay, and the boys happily indulge, but then close ranks afterward, pushing Terry aside.

Terry isn’t going to back down without a fight. He’s convinced that Dex and Trick are meant to be his, and he’ll do whatever it takes to make them realize all the safety and protection they need can be found in his arms.


Excerpt:

When he opened his eyes again long moments later, he caught sight of two young men, nearly identical in appearance standing in the shade of a leafy palm tree directly in his line of vision. Stunned, he stared in disbelief. They were absolutely beautiful. Were they actors from the studio? Pale skin, black hair, identical bright blue eyes,  rosy-red lipped mouths, slender athletically built, they were so absorbed in one another they seemed alone in the crowded yard.

As he watched, the boys turned closer in to each other, leaning forward to whisper together. Lowering his lids, Terry watched covertly. There was something illicit about the pair, something almost sexual. But surely they were related? Two young men who looked so much alike had to be brothers.

One of the boys tugged the other deeper into the shadows of a tree and the privacy fence. They looked around, and when one bright blue glance settled on him for a minute, Terry's heart rate increased and his skin heated. They couldn’t tell he watched from under his lashes could they? Apparently deciding that he was asleep and no threat, the two embraced, sharing gentle kisses and petting each other with slim white hands.

Enthralled, Terry stifled a groan as his cock stirred against the zipper of his khaki shorts. Damn. That hadn’t happened with so little effort in a long time. What the fuck? He tried to look away from the boys, told himself he should be disgusted, but he couldn’t. Bottom line, he’d never been so turned on in his life. He’d spent his whole life doing and feeling exactly what everyone felt he ought, and what had it gotten him? A corner office in the family business and a lonely bed at night. Fuck it. He was done living for everyone else. If Mischa could find his own way, then Terry damn well could too.  And he’d get started on doing that as soon as his erection subsided enough to get out of this chair without causing himself a lot of embarrassment. He crossed his hands over his lap and continued to watch the boys in the corner of the yard.

Mmm, and why rush off? This lovely couple was really getting into their embrace now, and since no one else seemed to notice, Terry felt kind of included, almost as though he were participating in the act instead of witnessing it. He could practically feel the sweep of tongues in his mouth, the touch of two sets of hands tracing his shoulders, his abdomen. Damn, he really wished he had Dan’s bold personality or Mischa’s rebellious streak. He’d be over there in a heartbeat taking his share of kisses.

Down boy, he whispered to his newly overactive libido. Baby steps; we’ll get there eventually. Jumping from mild-mannered straight accountant to gay threesome in seconds made for too drastic a change.

“Terry? Are you all right?  Do you need a drink or something?”
Damn. Somehow Mischa had walked up and knelt next to him without him noticing.
“I’m fine. Fine. It’s a little hot here, that’s all.” Terry spoke, but he didn’t look at Mischa.











6/28/2011

In the Kitchen with LeeAnn Sontheimer Murphy



In the kitchen today sharing coffee and recipes, and talking books, of course, with LeeAnn Sontheimer Murphy author of  Love Scars from Evernight Publishing
    Since my heroine, Cara, is a Texas girl, I have no doubt she can make great chili.   Although I'm not Texas born (although I've spent a little time down in the Lone Star state), I have a family heirloom chili recipe that I thought I would share.  The beginnings of this recipe date back to World War I when my grandfather was sent to what was then Camp Hood for Army training.  He fell in love with both Texas and the spicy food so when he returned to Missouri, years later, he brought his chili recipe with him.  Now chili wasn't a common dish outside of Texas at the time and the old school version was made with beef chunks rather than ground meat.  After his death, his sons tinkered with the recipe until my dad perfected his version.   Cara's version is really what I like to call "chili Sontheimer style" but here it is:

Ingredients:

2 big onions (chopped)
4 med. celery stalks (washed and chopped)
2-3 garlic toes
3-4 lbs. ground beef
Salt ; to taste
Pepper; to taste
½ = 3/4 cup Williams® chili seasoning
3  or 4 cans red beans
4 c water
opt. chili powder
1. Get big pan
2. Spray pan w/ cooking spray
3. Pour canola oil in pan ; coat bottom of pan.
4. Turn pan on to med. heat
5. Chop celery finely (use food processer if available)
6. Chop onions w/ the garlic
7. Add/ Cook the onions, celery, and garlic
8. Add meat, chunk meat
9. Add pepper and salt
10. Brown the meat; then drain fat
11. Add Williams® chili seasoning and opt. chili powder
12. Add 4c water
13. Add beans
Cook chili to preferred consistency ( watery, dry etc.)
Cool, then cover and put in fridge
Reheat and eat next day for maximum flavor

Love Scars blurb:

After marrying her sexy undead husband Will Brennan, Cara Riley Brennan thought her happy ending would last forever but she soon learned that the course of true love doesn’t ever run quite that smooth.  Just when she thought they were settling into eternal bliss, Sallie Hawkins, the woman who made Will into a vampire in the past, intrudes into their lives.  She’s wicked, she’s jealous, and she won’t stop till either Will or Cara is dead.

Her psychic presence tortures them both in body and soul but when she arrives outside their home in the flesh things go from bad to worse.   Cara and Will realize that confrontation is inevitable.

When the three meet for battle, they all may not survive and in the end, who lives and who dies is up to Cara who will do anything to keep her chance at a permanent happily ever after ending intact.

Be Yourself

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. ~e.e. cummings, 1955
The Romance Reviews