Well, it’s that time again.  Back to school registration… YAY!  LOL  Soon my son will be going back to high school.  They don’t start this year until September 2, but that’s okay.  I took that day off to just do nothing!  GRIN!

I started my back to school shopping for him as well.  I shop at Walmart.  Have you noticed how freaking early they have holiday decorations out?  My goodness there’s stuff for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and even some items for Christmas! What the heck is up with that?  Do they think that if I’m there buying school supplies I’ll see the holiday decorations and wander down that aisle and pick up a few items?  What is the point of having Christmas items out in August?  Anyone out there in sales, please explain it to me because it seems silly.

Anywho- let’s talk books.  Anyone read Acheron yet?  What about Breaking Dawn? How are they?  Good?  Bad?  Make you happy?  Disppointed?  Opinions please!  I’ve got Acheron but haven’t had a chance to read it yet.  I’ve also got Ann Aguirre’s Wanderlust here waiting for me to read and I can’t wait to dig into that one.  What other books are you looking forward to that are coming up?  Give me a list so I can add ‘em to mine.

Thanks for your thoughts, opinions, and recs, and until next time…

Hi all,

I’ve found myself distracted with a couple new-to-me web places… seriously distracted. First, forgive me but my geek is showing. Okay, that said…

First place, Twitter. If it’s open, I’m constantly looking for new messages and (this is so bad of me) I slacked off on my day job one day last week because of it! LOL So, I’ve had to make a pact not to open Twitter while working the day job… or while writing… because otherwise I won’t get done what needs to be done but rather I’ll be chatting with the 35+ members in my followers/following list. It’s so addicting! Do you twitter?

The other place I’ve recently found is SecondLife. I found this because gal pal Sarah McCarty had a rodeo there sponsored by Harlequin Spice to promote her latest release, Sam’s Creed. You create little avatar people and can adjust their facial features, body features, height, weight, all of it! There are free clothes to dress them up in and FREE SHOES! Then you can go anywhere in the SecondLife world. So far I’ve been inspecting the stores and the dance areas. In the dance areas you click on a globe thingie and you are animated to dance! It’s so cool! Then you chat with people and dance with them. Whoever came up with this was a genius. You should check it out. It’s a fun time.

Have you ever been to Second Life?

What are your web addictions?

I missed my blog day.  :blush: I NEVER miss my blog day.  Sigh.  I’m sooooo sorry to all of you who came here expecting something and there was nothing new.  *smacks forehead*  All i can say is life is extremely hectic and stressful right now, but that’s no excuse.

I had a long post planned, but I’m just going to get to the heart of the matter.  It’s a question for the readers and even the authors if they are so inclined to answer.

When you go to an author’s blog, what is it you like to see there?  Do you like to see them talk about their creative process–meaning, how they create their masterpieces including writing, edits, etc.?  Do you like to see things of a more personal nature?  Do you like to know how their writing is going?  Do you like to read snippets of the works in progress?  Do you like to read about the books they’ve been reading, the food they’ve been eating, or the trips they’ve been taking?

Or, do you prefer posts more related toward the reader, such as–the author posting thoughts about anything and everything and then asking for your opinions/likes or dislikes?   Do like getting sneak peeks into their works in the form of either excerpts or short snippets?  I KNOW you all love contests, so that’s a given.  :-)  But what do YOU prefer to see when you go to an author blog?  What engages you enough to have you leaving a comment or coming back?

Inquiring minds–mine–want to know!  So, please, give me your thoughts.  I appreciate your taking the time.  And, again, apologize for my dorkiness.  :blush:

I decided to do a meme for my post this week.  I love doing Memes.  Fun stuff, that.  So, this one is simple, I just have to list six things about me that you probably don’t know.  So, here goes…
1. I love gummy bears… but they have to be Haribo brand… and if I have them, I eat them and eat them until they are gone. I also eat them by color- white first, my fave. Heh.
2. I don’t own a gazillion pair of shoes as most women do. I was very girlie in high school but now I tend to go for practicality. I prefer my leather Keds (used to wear the canvas but they got dirty too fast) over all others.
3. I have to wear socks all the time. It’s weird, yes I know. But when I was a child I had very severe allergies including skin allergies. If I walked in grass barefoot, walked on nylon carpet, or just went barefoot, I would get a skin-peeling-and-cracking rash that was horribly painful and would only resolve with a prescription salve. It was lovely. This is why I don’t wear sandals. My mother used to make me wear socks with my sandals. I looked like a dork. Sigh.
4. I love coffee with Coffee-Mate French vanilla creamer. I absolutely LOVE it. But the coffee has to be strong.
5. I’m a dessert whore… as you can tell by the size of my ass and.. well, the rest of me. LOL I love it. Cake, tortes, some pies, ice cream, but my favorite is cheesecake and since I don’t get it very often, it’s a real treat when I do.
6. I had a hysterectomy four years ago and they ended up having to remove one ovary but you know what? I’m just as hormonal during PMS time as I was back then. Seriously, I can’t tell by my body when I’d be getting my period, but I can tell by my emotional response when it’s PMS time. You’d think they’d learn how to fix that. 

I don’t think I’ll tag anyone, but if you want to do the meme, feel free!  I’d love to hear six things about YOU! 

There are so many good books coming out this summer!  Have you noticed?  I’ve seen a couple from HelenKay Dimon, Sarah McCarty, one from La Nora, Janet Evanovich, Marjorie Liu, Brenda Jackson, Christie Ridgway, Roxanne St. Claire, Karen Kelley, Linda Howard, Janelle Denison, Susan Mallery, Suzanne Brockmann, and in August we’ve got Acheron from Sherrilyn Kenyon and Smoke Screen from Sandra Brown.  I could go on and on and on, but holy smokes we’ve got some awesome reading ahead… and that’s not including any of the ebooks from epublishers!  I’m so excited!

And I’ve noticed that there’s quite a genre mixture there and finally the number of contemporaries are starting to equal the number of paranormals which thrills me beyond words!  I love me some contemporary romance.

Tell me, what books are you looking forward to this summer?

P.S.   As I’m sitting here, I’m realizing why opening windows in June in Wisconsin is bad.  Ugh.  I can smell that the dairy farm (which also grows corn) about a mile away has fertilized.  Yes, a mile away.  If the wind blows from just the right direction, we get full stink from the cow manure.  Gah! PEEEEE-U!  LOL

I must give a huge shout out of congrats to gal pal Ann Aguirre who not only made the Locus Bestseller List with the ever magnificent Grimspace,  but she also got a fabulous author quote from Patricia Briggs!  You read the quote on Ann’s blog.  Rock on with your bad self, Ann!  Woo hoo!

I went to see Sex & The City this weekend.  Remember when I talked about Movie Theater vs. DVD? And how I said I rarely go to the theater unless there is a movie that is a must see for me?  Well, this is a must see movie for me.  I love Carrie and the girls.  They always have a good time.  From the previews it looked like a lot of fluff, but it ended up being way more than that.   The movie itself was over 2 hours long and each and every minute of it fan-freaking-tastic!!!  I would love to go see it again, that’s how great it was.  But instead I’ll wait until it comes out on DVD and it will be added to my collection and watched TONS.  If you watched the series while it was on HBO, I really, really encourage you to go see this movie.  It really is worth the money.  You can watch multiple trailers  here.

Will you go see it?  Are there any movies coming out that you have seen or are dying to see?

The season where the TV shows are new. Le sigh. Now we’ll have summer repeats and boredom. But, I suppose this will give me an opportunity to watch those new shows that looked good but were on at the same time as my favorites. I’ll miss House, Lost, Eli Stone (which IS coming back! Yay!), and some others but those are the ones I’ll miss the most.

Tonight American Idol ends… well, the finale is on. There is tomorrow but not much happens then. I shall miss it even though the order in which the contestants got voted off this year was screwy. But that’s neither here nor there. Do you watch American Idol? Which David do you want to win? I want this one to win…

The dude can sing. He is awesome. But you know what? If he doesn’t win, I won’t be sad because then he can do an album HIS way rather than the absolute American Idol way. He’s going to tickle my fancy just as much as Daughtry. I can already tell.

Who’s your pick? What shows are you going to miss this summer? Do you know of any shows coming on that will are supposed to be good?

My character’s that is. And it’s annoying me. So, I felt compelled to write them a little letter. Here’s what I have to tell them. Maybe they’ll listen, maybe they won’t, but either way I tried–I tried to find a little peace and a little sanity for five freaking minutes.

Dear Gabe and Felicity,

I know that you want your story to be told. I get that. Really. But I’m trying to read right now! Reading helps me keep my creativity fresh and flowing. Reading gives me inspiration. So all your poking and prodding in the deepest recesses of my mind? You can stop that. Now. Let me read for a little while. Unless you want your story told in the worst possible way? While I’m feeling stressed and tired? No? I didn’t think so.

Your story will be told. I promise you. Not only because you want it told, but because I want to tell it. So, take a chill pill and let me get some inspiration and freshness from doing a little bit of reading. I will write the next scene which is Felicity’s in a little while. I promise. And then, yes Gabe, it will be your turn again. Demanding Dr. Hottie. PFFT.

Thank you both for your understanding.

Sincerely,

Marissa - The Author

Now let’s hope these demanding characters of mine give me a little breather. When an author says a story takes over their head, they mean it literally. Seriously. I opened a book and tried to read it. I got about three paragraphs and Gabe intruded. Then Felicity. Each fighting for my attentions it would seem.

The worst part of it? I’m trying to read the wonderful Cynthia Eden’s Hotter Than Midnight and I can’t even get a good lead-in.  Maybe now that I gave them the spotlight here on The Bradford Bunch, they’ll be appeased for a little while.  Though I doubt it.  LOL 

HUGE congrats to Denise Agnew who finaled in the Passionate Plume Contest! Go Denise! The book she finaled with was Male Call, the first book in her Hot Zone series available from Samhain. I read it and I LOVED it. Woot!

Her sexy letters are his only lifeline in his dangerous world…

Successful computer software engineer Eve Carmichael melts under yet another hotter than hot letter written by Reserve army soldier Sean O’Callahan. Yet Eve can’t take the thought of his life in danger overseas, and she resolves to get a sex life—and a life period. That means forgetting Sean before anything bad can happen to him. To celebrate her thirty-fifth birthday, Eve plans a trip to Male Call, a male review club. Still, she worries about Sean. She hasn’t received a letter from him in too many weeks. And oh, how she longs for those flirtatious, hot letters.

Sean finds Eve’s letters to be the only lifeline in his increasingly chaotic world. As their feelings grow hot and heavy, he can’t wait to return home and kindle that pure firepower.

When Eve receives a letter from Sean saying he’s been wounded, her fears are realized. But fate and a little mischievous planning by her friends will serve up the greatest surprise of all.

You can buy it here.

Other books in the series. Aren’t these some HOT covers? Wow!

You can buy them here, here, and the next one here- on sale May 20!

Here’s a new release from more Bradford Bunchers!

Behind closed doors, the real games begin…

Winning it big.

That’s the name of the game at Las Vegas’s Liege Hotel and Casino, where the hottest fantasies hinge on a roll of the dice…and the tantalizing knowledge that anything could happen before sunrise.

Cocktail waitress Carinna wants a man to tie her up, not tie her down. Little does she know that her most willing partner yet has something else planned for this fiery Latina bombshell.

Dahlia is a burlesque dancer with a brain for business and a bod for sin. Her latest admirer may be a sweet-talking Casanova, but despite what he thinks she’s not giving anything away free.

Meanwhile, Amy has the perfect plan to rob the Liege Casino blind…until the intimidating owner catches her red-handed. Now she knows she’s going to pay… with both pleasure and pain.

Professional shill Cassidy is ready to experience a breathless rendezvous with her “friend with benefits.” But when he proposes five delicious nights of sexy blackjack, the stakes have never been so high.

Can be purchased here or here.

And last, but certainly not least is Cynthia Eden’s new release! Woot!

In her sexy and suspenseful new novel, Cynthia Eden introduces readers to a seductive world where powerful night creatures ignite dark, dangerous hungers…

Dr. Emily Drake’s patients tend to be a little unusual. Instead of the typical therapist’s caseload of midlife crises and mother fixations, Emily treats vampires with blood phobias and sex-demons looking for meaningful relationships. But her gift for recognizing and healing the Other—those creatures of the night that most humans don’t even know exist—requires a few house rules. First: Never trust a shifter. Especially not one like Detective Colin Gyth whose gold-flecked eyes and predatory air make Emily realize how much she’s been longing to lose control…

Colin can’t believe the doctor he’s been assigned to work with on the Night Butcher murder investigation is the one person who could expose his true identity as a wolf shifter. Smart, sexy, and stubborn as hell, Emily brings out the alpha male in Colin, unleashing a wild, heady desire that takes them both over the edge.

But in the shadows, the Night Butcher waits…eager to spill Emily’s blood and taste her terror. And he’ll use any means to destroy her, including the one person she has grown to trust…

You can buy it here or here.

I don’t have much to say (A shocker, I know) so I thought I’d done the one-word meme (but I may use more than one word heh)

You’re feeling: Really rather boring since I have nothing exciting going on.

To your left: Desk and books for the day job.

On your mind: Writing, the next scene.

Last meal included: Coffee and Lucky Charms.

You sometimes find it hard to: Be optimistic.

The weather: Sunny, 50s, a treat for us Wisconsin peeps.

Something you have a collection of: Nora Roberts books.

A smell that cheers you up: A really great book.

A smell that can ruin your mood: Burnt toast.

How long since you last shaved: Three days or so… getting a little hairy.

The current state of your hair: Long, washed, unbound.

The largest item on your desk/workspace (not computer): TV.  I work from home so I need some entertainment. heh.

Your skill with chopsticks: Ridiculous.

You have never: Lived alone.

You never want to: Be an outcast.