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.

*Raising hand*  Me!  Me!!

Lots of people will say they like romantic suspense, but what kind of romantic suspense do you like?  Do you like the focus of the story to be on the romance but the suspense making it difficult for the H & H to find their HEA?  Do you like equal amounts of romance and suspense?  Or do you prefer more suspense and the romance secondary?

I, personally, like the focus of the story to be on the romance and the suspense throwing them together yet keeping them apart.  I love these kinds of stories.  In fact, I just read a really great one yesterday.  It’s Pamela Clare’s Unlawful Contact.  Wow.  It was very good.  Lots of emotion, lots of romance, hot sex, and the suspense was woven in in a way that threw the H & H together AND they were former lovers.  Sigh.  So romantic.  So very romantic.

Do you like military scenarios?  Police scenarios?  Maybe SWAT?  Our very own Bradford Buncher Denise Agnew writes great military romantic suspense stories like this.  She’s got some out at Samhain.  The HOT ZONE series.  HOT stuff.  You should check them out.

So, do you like RS?  Which scenario is your fave?

First- HUGE congrats to fellow Bradford-ee, Elisabeth Naughton, for her sale of three romantic adventure books to Dorchester! Give out a woot! Woot! to Elisabeth! I found this info on her blog about the first upcoming book, date to be determined.

Elisabeth Naughton’s MAKE ME BELIEVE, in the tradition of Romancing The Stone, while racing against the clock, between the flying bullets, blackmail, and murder, a spitfire archaeologist and her thief partner search for three legendary (and priceless) artifacts…

CONGRATS ELISABETH!

This week was spring break for my two teenage boys (thank God it’s nearly over!) and a lot of the time they played video games. You know, Xbox 360 is all the rave along with Nintendo Wii. Well, my husband gets so annoyed with the amount of time they spend playing video games. Me, it doesn’t bother so much– well unless they’re getting loud and stomping because they’re losing. THAT annoys me.

Anyway, I was thinking aren’t their video games to them what books are to us? Our means of escape? Entertainment. Fun. Enjoyment. Granted reading is much better for the brain, but who am I to withhold their means of escape when I very easily could spend just as much time reading (if only I had the time)?

Now if they ever read this, they’d use it against me which is why I’m so glad they will never see it. LOL

So what do you think about that? It was just a random thought, one I’d love your opinion on. HAPPY SATURDAY!

p.s. There’s an excerpt up of my unpublished works but recently revised When Petals Fall at Great Scotts.

Happy Friday!  Happy Good Friday!  Happy first day of spring!

First day of spring… that’s funny.  We’re expecting a huge snow storm today, anywhere from 8-12 inches.  Gah.  I tell you, I love snow, but this late in the season it starts to wear on a person.  Plus we were spoiled with a week of 30-40+ degree days… and now we get snow.  Mother Nature is teasing us me thinks.  Heh.

How’s your weather been?

Anyone have plans for Easter?  We don’t do much anymore now that my boys are older, but when they were little, we’d use this plastic eggs and fill them with candy and money and hide them all over the house.  Then when they woke up Easter morning, they’d try and find all the eggs the Easter Bunny left behind.  It was so fun and the boys were so cute.   Then it was off to church and dinner at my mom’s.  Now, we do our own thing.  I still buy the boys candy, I just don’t make them hunt for it… though I miss watching them as little ones searching for their treasures.
What do you all do for Easter?  Any traditions?

I’m battling a migraine right now, so I don’t have much to say… unusual, I know. LOL Anyway, I thought I’d share a little humor with you today, something we, as women, can all relate to at one point or another in our lives. So, enjoy!

At the risk of sounding cheap, it costs a mini-fortune to go to the movie theater anymore! Has anyone else noticed that?  By the time you buy your ticket, get popcorn and a soda– for TWO– it costs a good $40.00.  Now while a movie can be entertaining, I sure can find a better way to spend $40.00–which is why I only go to the theater for movies that are a “must-see” movie.

For example, in the theater now is Vantage Point, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and Jumper all of which look highly entertaining and ones I want to see, but of the three I’d probably only go to the theater to see one of them, Vantage Point, because while it’s not a guaranteed “like”, it does have better potential than the others–for me that is.

An upcoming movie that I will definitely see is Untraceable– looks really good and Diane Lane is a great actress.  A have-to-see is Sex & The City, gotta see what’s happening with the fab four.  Another is Wanted with Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. It looks totally action-packed and I think Angelina Jolie can totally pull off the bad-ass chick.

Not sure what else is upcoming, but those are the ones I will go to the theater to see that I know about.  The others, I’ll rent on DVD.  *shrug*  To me, it’s just too costly anymore to be able to go see movies in the theater, so when I do, I want to see a movie that packs a punch.

How about you?  Theater VS DVD?