Tuesday, July 31, 2012

CBLS Book Tour and Review: The Fire Of Thieves w/Giveaway


Title: The Fire of Thieves
Author: Chacelyn Pierce
Publisher: Silver Publishing
Length: 37,000 words
Genre: Romance
Sub-Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sub-Categories: Action/Adventure

Available at:

Blurb:
Caitlyn McCollum and Katie Summerly have radically different lives. Caitlyn is a jet-setting thief, traveling the world with the handsome, uncompromising Jerrick. Katie curates art exhibits and just moved in with Ethan, her dependable new boyfriend. Katie and Caitlyn are two sides of the same woman, sharing a single heart with separate yearnings. Caitlyn lives for the adrenaline rush of her secret life, the passionate nights she shares with Jerrick, and her unyielding dedication to her first love. Katie wants a simple life with Ethan, free of Jerrick's manipulations and emotional distance. Her heart must choose or risk losing both men. Yet, as her last adventure unfolds, Caitlyn finds that love itself is the price of her final heist.




Review: This is definitely not your typical romance novel. I mean, our heroine is a real butt kicker. She steals things and she kills people, and she's an all around bad ass. Caitlyn/Katie remind me of Sarah from Chuck, except that Sarah was one of the good ones, and though the heroine is trying to get a normal life back, she's not one of the good ones. That in itself is a different change of pace for this type of book. Our girl isn't a wus, running to a man for protection. She gets it done!


I loved seeing the two sides of Kate and her two men and how she managed her two lives, which was not easy. 


I especially loved her thief of a husband, Jerrick. He was super bad and super sexy and the sex scenes between the two of them really smoldered!


The heist in Mexico was excited but the things that happened afterwards left my jaw on the floor. The ending? Not at all what I expected when I started reading this book!


Really loved this book. Definitely a different twist on contemporary romance!


5 stars!

Excerpt:
Waiting gave her too much time to think--time to second guess herself. However, there was nothing she could do about it now. Already committed, she had a job to do. A cold bead of sweat licked down her spine like a lover's tongue, which was ridiculous because the heat could've put Hell to shame. Her spandex suit clung to her curves like cellophane, and a restless breath escaped her lips as she stood within the shadows of a cobblestone wall. Caitlyn focused on the task at hand as she watched a young driver pull the limo around to the front of the mansion. Scanning the large acre of front lawn, she contemplated the time it would take to clear it. The yard would be a lot of ground to cover, more than she was used to, but nothing she couldn't handle. Everything had been mapped out and she'd gone over the blueprints beforehand. Twice. She could do this, had been born to do this. She studied the man she'd be thieving from, a typical blue-blood with inherited money, too much to spend in any one lifetime.

On Friday nights Mr Guillory had the habit of taking a young date out to the theater, then to dinner which normally lasted four to five hours. A good window of opportunity for Caitlyn to get what she needed and be home before Guillory knew he'd been robbed.

Tonight, Mr Guillory's date was a busty blonde whose phony laugh carried over the wind. Cheap happiness, and he had to know it. Yet, a fifty-year-old billionaire toting a twenty-something jewel was a statement to his peers. He guided her with an overeager hand to the limo's back door, and the driver opened it hastily. The blonde bent over to get into the back, probably offering a clear crotch shot to the two men. Guillory slid in next to her, licking his lips as if he could taste her heady musk before dinner.

From the dark shadows of the mansion wall, the exchange seemed too ridiculous for Caitlyn to watch any further. When the black stretch limo traveled through the iron gates, she stealthily made her way across an acre of manicured lawn. She scampered like a high-strung ballerina, her well-muscled legs made a faint swishing noise as her spandex-covered thighs skimmed each other. To anyone watching, she probably looked utterly ridiculous with a ski mask covering her face.

She went to the left side of the mansion, knowing this had been the only way for her to go up. Climbing wasn't going to be easy, she could barely grip the ledges but it was too late to change her strategy now. She had a well-made plan and she needed to stick with it.

Caitlyn unlatched the heavy hiker's backpack she toted and dropped it in the damp grass. Unzipping it quickly, she retrieved her climbing shoes. The soles would grab the stucco exterior with ease. Next, she took out her small grappling hook gun and, without hesitation, shot the anchor over the top of the mansion. She cringed when it made a loud "cling" as it snagged a groove on the roof. Caitlyn paused, glancing up and down the sides of the mansion. Glad the guards hadn't heard, she slowly pulled the rope with a solid tug and smiled with satisfaction when it latched firmly to the overhang.

Moving stealthily up the mansion's exterior, her gloved hands kept a grip on the rope while her shoes dug into shallow grooves, rails, and gutter drains. Caitlyn panted with spent energy as more sweat poured down her spine.

She was a little unsteady and off-balance as she came to a window ledge on the third floor. It had been a few months since she'd so exerted herself, and she started to realize that too much time out of action had left her easily winded. But she had a pretty damn good reason for the long hiatus. Yet thinking about him wouldn't do her a bit of good while hanging thirty feet in the air.

She leaned to the side and peeked through the window which opened into Guillory's enormous office. The lights were off inside and the grounds below seemed clear of patrolling security, but she knew better. She had scoped this place out long enough to know he had an alarm through Sure-Safe, and that two well-paid personal guards made the rounds of his compound. It had been essential to know everything about Guillory and his home security. Since the age of seventeen, she'd been taught to always be prepared and organized with her jobs. Get the object, and call it a night.

She looked at the windowsill and saw the thin wire of Guillory's alarm system trailing along the frame. There was always a way to bypass an alarm, cameras, or even personal guards, but being the lone person on the job, it was impossible to do it all. At least not in the brief timeframe she allotted herself. In this case, she picked two tasks to focus on. For her, the main concern had always been the cameras, which had been one reason she wore the mask that covered everything but her full lips and caramel colored eyes. That left her to focus most of her attention on either the guards or the alarm. Cracking alarms wasn't her specialty and, since she wanted to do this heist alone, the alarm would be the one thing she couldn't waste time on.

She would focus on the guards.

Since Guillory's guards made him overconfident, the office safe should be easy to crack. Yet, it was a risk to rely wholly on that theory. Guillory could very easily have a safe that took hours to crack, but she bet against those odds. A room with a hidden safe would certainly be the first place the guards searched. She'd been in the thievery business for long enough to pick up on things like that. Feeling confident that Guillory's safe would be easy to crack, once inside, she focused instead on the guards. When the alarms began chiming, it wouldn't leave her much time before the police came, so she had to be quick.

Cutting the glass on the window, Caitlyn watched it tilt and crash into the room. Guillory had motion sensors throughout the house and the minute she slipped in, the countdown began. As anticipated, the alarm screamed from various hidden speakers on the property, floodlights shone radiantly on the shadowy yard below, and she heard the distant, muffled shouts of men inside the house. The small corner she had used to climb up was shielded from the flood lights but not for long, especially if the mounted cameras decided to make a tight scan.

Caitlyn dropped into the dark office and knocked the fake Monet painting off the wall behind Guillory's dark cherry wood desk. She quickly went to work on the safe, letting a small device scan the security code for the sequence of correct numbers. The process took time and could not be disrupted or she'd have to begin all over again.

She heard shouting and heavy footsteps, signaling that the guards were close by and heading her direction. Shrugging off her heavy backpack, she leaned it against the office desk she planned to use as a shield.

Caitlyn didn't like to kill. She relished the jobs that allowed her to go in, take an item, and leave lives intact. Using deterrents was another matter entirely. As the door to the room opened, the first mammoth-sized guard burst through, his gun aimed and ready to shoot anything that moved. Caitlyn's first dart hit his chest. He grunted, plucked the dart out, and stared in wonder at the empty vial at the end of it. The amount of tranquilizer in a single dart had been calibrated for a large animal, so it wouldn't take long before the serum caused him to black out, especially with his heart pumping adrenaline. He swayed slightly, took a backward step, tried to catch his footing, and went down with a heavy thud.

Wasting no time, Caitlyn took cover behind Guillory's heavy wooden desk. She still had a second armed guard to deal with. The tank of a man opened fire, shooting blindly into the room. Debris rained down as he unloaded his semi-automatic. When he ceased fire, Caitlyn peeked around the desk and watched as the man came warily inside.

About the Author:
A rocker by heart, Chacelyn Pierce is constantly ear plugged with heavy tunes blaring to stir up the phantom personalities that swarm her mind. It’s no surprise that she enjoys writing and reading to satiate her appetite for the male antagonist in a story. Married to a blatant redhead and mothering a diva, there is never a dull moment in the house. As a native Texan, she doesn’t personally own a horse but follows the unwritten southern rule of knowing how to ride one. When she’s not testing the emotional capacity of her characters, she works part time as a dog groomer. 


Sunday, July 29, 2012

I Think I'm Evil

I have to admit. I giggled when I heard Michael Phelps didn't win the gold. I laughed even harder when I saw he almost didn't qualify.

Why?

Because I'm so sick of these over exposed athletes and the Olympics in general.

I just can't get excited about it.

Plus swimming? Who watching swimming?

Ho hum!

I think that's the problem with most Olympic sports.

They are boring!

Plus the games that are actually worth watching are dominated by professional athletes.

WTF is up with that.

I remember a time when pros couldn't take part in the games.

Does that make me sound old?

Who cares!

The Olympics are just a shadow of themselves anymore. Its all about money...BAH

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Album Review: Erasure - Tomorrow's World




Erasure - Tomorrow's World 
Album Review by: Andrea Guy
 
 Erasure is one of those bands that are consistent with their music. When you listen to an Erasure CD you are guaranteed to have their signature bleeps and bloops, care of Vince Clark and vocals that will wow you by Andy Bell. Tomorrow's World is no exception. The only problem with consistency is that things can start getting boring.  Luckily, that doesn't happen here. Erasure only suffers when they deviate from their pop music formula ie their self titled album from 1995, where they went for longer more ambient sounding tunes.

Tomorrow's World is Erasure doing what they do best fun synth-pop that you want to sing and dance to. The first single is "When I Start To (Break It All Down)." This is Andy doing a breakup song, something he always does so well. He plays the part of the wronged lover perfectly every time. Another breakup track is "What Will I Say When You Are Gone?" This one is a little slower and more emotional than "When I Start To (Break It All Down)"

But if Andy does the breakup song so well, what of the shiny happy pop love song? Well when it comes to a song like "Be With You" which opens Tomorrow's World, what you get is nothing short of perfection. The melody is catchy and bouncy and Andy's vocal soars. This is one of those songs that lifts your mood with just one listen. "Fill Us With Fire," continues the happy mood. This song will leave you bouncing around.

They try to achieve that level of fun with "Then I Go Twisting," but even the fun beats can't save a song that is lyrically bland. Thankfully that's one of the only misfires on the album. "Whole Lotta Love Run Riot" is pure disco.

The band only deviates from their usual formula on "You've Got To Save Me Right Now." The band take their signature synthpop and blend it with some gospel vocals. Thanks to Andy Bell's great vocal range, this song really shines. It is one of album's highlights.

"Just When I Thought It Was Ending" is the token ballad. It isn't the usual hearts and flowers ballad, with stronger beats that what one would expect from the duo.

The album closes with the title track, which also happens to be an instrumental piece. It is a rather ho hum way to end the album. Tomorrow's World is a mostly solid release. There are more hits than misses here, which makes you wonder why the instrumental was included as it doesn't enhance the album in any way.

Tomorrow's World is proof that Erasure are still rolling with the punches. If you have a yen for synth-pop music, you can't go wrong here.

Genre: Synth Pop  
Sounds Like: Depeche Mode  
Label: Mute  
Buy: Amazon
Released: 2011  
Rating: 8/10
Listen: When I Start To (Break It All Down)


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Book Barrage: Maddy's Floor w/Giveaway





Title: Maddy's Floor (Psychic Visions, Book 3)
Author: Dale Mayer
Publisher: Valley Publishing
Length: 90,000 words
Genre: Romance
Sub-Genre Romantic Suspense
Sub-Categories: (Action, Mystery/Thriller)
Heat Level: Steamy (Hot sex scenes/language, but not explicit)

Available at:

Blurb:
Medical intuitive and licensed MD Madeleine Wagner thought she'd seen every way possible to heal a diseased body...then patients start dying from mysterious causes in her long-term facility.

The terminally ill fight to get into her ward. Once there, many miraculously...live. So when her patients start dropping and she senses an evil force causing their deaths, she calls on her friend and mentor, Stefan, for help. Together, they delve beyond the physical plane into the metaphysical... Only to find terror.

She wants to save everyone, but are some souls not meant to be saved?

Detective Drew McNeil has two family members in need of Maddy's healing care, but his visits to her facility leave him wondering - who cares for Maddy? Bizarre events on her floor raise his professional curiosity. And the more time he spends with Maddy, the more personal everything becomes. When the deaths on Maddy's Floor intersect with one of his cold cases, he realizes an old killer has returned - and Maddy's standing in his path.

How can these people stop something that no one else can see, feel or even believe?

Excerpt:
Jansen Svaar's room came next. With the renovations, Jansen's bed had been shifted. He was not quite in the new area, but not as cozy as he'd been before.

Jansen hadn't minded. The big Swede had enjoyed every one of his seventy-eight years and wasn't ready to jump off yet. Big and robust in his prime, his physical body had withered to one battling diabetes that defied control, and cancer that defied remission. Yet, he was still here and looking so much better than when he arrived. Even his thick head of hair had returned with rich brown color. His last tests had come back with very positive indicators. So much so, Jansen wanted to stop his treatments. According to him, he was all better. If it were possible to heal by his word alone, then he'd see it done.

Maddy grinned as she recalled the many conversations they'd shared in the past.

At the entrance to his doorway, she stopped to survey his bed.

Something was wrong.

Purple energy hovered over Jansen; a thick blanket of colored haze covered his midsection. Frowning, Maddy studied the odd essence. Energy had a signature – like DNA, the energy was unique to each person. It just wasn't as easy to identify.

She'd worked with him long enough to know it wasn't his aura.

The smoky blanket moved.

Who or what did the energy represent? Her gaze swept the rest of the room before striding forward. The activity over Jansen did not shy away; it increased. She narrowed her gaze. The eerie silence of the room magnified the unearthly scene before her.

It wasn't what she'd experienced the night before, racing through the hallway into chaos. She expected noises of some kind. Not this hushed silence, as if sound would shatter the intensity of whatever was going on. She frowned. A struggle of some kind was going on.

She shook her head, panic stirring inside. Could energy fight with itself? With someone else's energy? Is that what happened to Eric? She studied the energy again. This time she saw it. The blanket of malevolence was moving over the bed and occupant, spreading and growing every minute.

 Underneath, Jansen was suffocating.

His energy, tiny and thin, struggled to remain separate and distinct from the purple amoeba-like entity sucking the life force from him.

Fear shot through her. This couldn't happen again. Maddy raced to the bedside. "Stop," she cried out hoarsely, not wanting to disturb the other patients. "Leave him alone."

The purple energy quivered in place but did not dissipate.

Maddy wafted her hands over Jansen's body. Her fingers slipped into and through the mist, neither feeling it nor dispersing it. She fed her own energy into Jansen's heart chakra, giving him her strength and will to hold on. At the same time, she closed her eyes and surrounded herself and, by the extension of her hand on his, Jansen's body with white light. The old answer to keeping oneself safe and balanced.

The energy shifted, cooled.

She opened her eyes to find the energy still wiggling in place, the purple haze malicious in appearance. Then slowly, like fog blowing in the wind, the haze thinned before sending tendrils into the darkness.

Maddy reached out and checked Jansen's pulse. Her medical training took over on the physical level as her medical intuitive training took over on the energy field. She observed the thread-like cord of light stretching far out of Jansen's body, gently pulsating in a reassuring rhythm. Maddy coaxed his system to relax a little more, then to wake up gently.

"Dr. Maddy?" His paper-thin lids opened to reveal rheumy blue eyes blinking in surprise.

"Yes, it's me, Jansen." Maddy studied his face. "How do you feel?" He appeared fine, normal but surprised.

"Christ, I don't know. I had the most horrible dream." He coughed slightly and shifted position in the bed, tugging at his covers as if chilled.

"Oh?" Maddy kept her voice calm and soothing. "What was it about?"

"Like someone was pulling my soul from my body, one inch at a time." Fear filled the old man's eyes. His thin hands grasped hers nervously. "I don't know what the hell it was, but I felt on a precipice between life and death. It was like meeting Peter at the pearly gates himself, and him not being too happy to see me."

"Shhh." Maddy stroked his hands, noting with clinical detachment that his liver spots had begun to fade. "It was just a dream. Not to worry. It's over. I'm here, and you're safe. Go back to sleep."

Relief washed over his face. "Thanks, Doc. Don't know what I'd do without you."

Shifting sideways, Jansen closed his eyes and fell back to sleep.

Maddy walked to the doorway, turned around and glanced back.

No sign of the purple grim reaper. Jansen was safe.

For now.

She shuddered. What the hell was happening at The Haven?

Posted reviews from satisfied readers! (4.9 star rating on Amazon across 17 reviews!)
Dale Mayer created a book that combined romance, suspense and paranormal elements so well that it should appeal to readers of all of these genres. (Debra)

Dale Mayer did an outstanding job with this book. I have really enjoyed the whole series and highly recommend it to everyone. The characters were well developed and the story was fantastic. I plan to read other books she's written and can't wait for the next book in this series. (Bizzybee)

I have only become interested in paranormal and psychic fiction in the last couple of year and this author ranks at the top of the list when it comes to combining this genre with mystery and romance. All three books in this series were so riveting I could hardly put the kindle down until I'd read all the way through (which meant some very late nights but it was worth it). (Raven)

I couldn`t put my kindle down! This series was number 1 in psychic thrillers. i couldn`t read it fast enough but didn`t want it to end! Can`t wait for the next book. (Lala6)

Maddy's Floor is the third book in a psychic phenomenon trilogy and although I enjoyed the first two, I thought this last book was the best of the three. Dale's characters are well defined and the story has just the right amount of suspense, romance and action. I liked that Maddy was comfortable with her talent as a medical intuitive and that the character who wound his way through the three books played a larger role in this one. (Janet Fedor)

My Review: I wish I could have read the first 2 books in this trilogy before jumping into this one, though these books are definitely ok to read stand alone. That said, there's something about these books that reminds me of M.J. Rose's Reincarnationist series. I definitely want to get the other 2 books now!

Rating: 5 stars!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f92c8642/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:
Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She's best known for Tuesday's Child, Hide'n Go Seek, her romantic suspense novels that was one of the final four in the Kensington Brava/Romantic Times contest this last year. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres.  To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series . All her books are available in print format as well.

To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at http://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author.


BOOKS BY DALE MAYER:

Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday's Child
Hide'n Go Seek
Maddy's Floor

Single Title Romantic Suspense/Thrillers
Touched by Death – out now!

Novellas
It's a Dog's Life- romantic comedy

Young Adult Books
Dangerous Designs – Book I
Deadly Designs – Book 2 – out soon!
Vampire in Denial – Book I of Blood Ties
Vampire in Distress – Book 2 out soon!
Gem Stone Mystery Series- out soon!
In Cassie's Corner- soon

Non-Fiction Books
Career Essentials: The Resume
Career Essentials: The Cover Letter
Career Essentials: The Interview

Friday, July 20, 2012

Coffee Or Wine....That is the real question

You know its bad when a large cup of coffee at Starbucks costs nearly as much as a bottle of wine. That is food..or rather drink for thought.

The average Venti coffee of the fancy variety is about $4.80, a regular sized bottle of Arbor Mist (pick your flavor) is between 5-7 dollars depending on where you get it.

The question is...

This


or this...


How in the heck is a wench to choose? OK..I pick the wine..its a better value! Its pretty sad that a bottle of wine is more economical than a cup of Joe.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Ron Howard Is The Man

I love his ad in support of Barrack Obama. I have to say I teared up at seeing Andy Griffith in the clip. This was just a great thing no matter what candidate you support.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Still Daydream Believin'

Today was the first day since February 29th that I could listen to Daydream Believer without crying. That is not to say that I didn't tear up as Davy sang "Cheer up sleepy Jean," because I did. But I kept the tears back and I let myself enjoy a song that has been a huge part of my life since I was 5 years old.

Many bands come and go. Favorite songs change on a regular basis, but there are some constants in my life and The Monkees and Davy Jones are one of those constants.

I have to say, Davy was the last person I earmarked for an early death. Yes, 66 is an early death. Personally, I think anything under 90 is early. No matter what, Davy will always hold a special place in my heart and I'm glad I can listen to the song again.

However when I really feel nostalgic about Davy, I listen to him sing Shades Of Grey with Peter Tork...and my heart melts....



Davy Jones....I'll never get over losing you.....

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Get A New Obsession People

I'm so sick of people and the whole 50 Shades Of Gray thing.  Only in this world can bad fanfic/porn get published. Even worse it is bad Twilight fanfic.

Gag me with the proverbial spoon.

I wish all the people that think 50 Shades is brilliant would read "REAL" erotica so that they know that most of what is being written right now is garbage.

When you want to read real erotica pick up Delta of the Venus or Story of O. Pay attention to the writing style that isn't crash or cheap.

Then if you do that, come back and tell me how freaking brilliant Fifty Shades Of Gray is.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

CBLS Book Tour Review: Blind Lust W/Giveaway


Title: Blind Lust
Author: Annie Seaton
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Length: 21,000 words
Genres: Paranormal Romance

Available at:

Blurb:
A wager between the gods can change your life. Even if you are a witch…

When Venus has a wager with Cupid, that prudish librarian, Lizzy Sweet cannot be enticed to love, she neglects to tell her son that Lizzy is a three hundred year old witch. The first man Lizzy sees after Cupid shoots his arrow is Josh Deegan, a famous country and western singer who has come to town to rediscover his muse, in an old farmhouse haunted by a culinary ghost. Local warlock, Wesley Gordon, who has been hitting on Lizzy to no avail for over one hundred years, is not impressed. The quirky old folk of Silver Valley watch fondly as the battle between love and lust plays out. Leaden and golden arrows zing around, spells are magicked, potions stirred, and ghosts hunted. Who will fall in love and who will let the other go forever?


Excerpt :
“Do you believe in ghosts, Josh?” she asked quietly.

He laughed uneasily, shaking his head. “If you had asked me that a couple of days ago I would have said you were crazy, but honestly now I don’t know.”

“What about witches?” She paused. “Magic spells and potions?”

“Give me a break,” he said, running his fingers through his shaggy hair. She was silent as she gathered her thoughts.

 “You’ve been here for a week, haven’t you Josh?” she asked softly.

He nodded.

“Have you felt your Aunt Helen’s presence?”

He looked at her without answering and a strong gust of wind rattled the kitchen windows. The storm clouds scurried across the moon, the sky cleared and a shaft of moonlight shone through the kitchen window. Lizzy stood bathed in moonlight, the lace of the curtains fracturing the beam, and the power of the moon goddess entered her strengthening her will.

“Thank you, mother,” she breathed, her eyes closing as she let the power do its work. She stood motionless for a full minute.

“Lizzy, are you all right?” Josh sounded wary.

She stood tall and straight, holding her hand out to him. “It’s all right Josh, I’m sorry I upset you.”

He hesitated before crossing the kitchen and taking her hand. The look of adoration in his eyes sent sparks running along her nerve endings, all she needed was his touch. Closing her eyes, Lizzy focused on the power of the mother within, to resist succumbing to temptation once again.


Review: This was a short read, but very satisfying. It combines one part mythology with one part paranormal and the result is a super cute story that you will wish was just a little bit longer so you could spend more time with Josh, Lizzie and Wesley.

There was a lot of things to love about this story.

1. It is a unique plot: witches and cupid and Venus. Not a likely combination to appear in most stories.
2. A hot sexy country star and a librarian? Yeah this is great!
3. Did I mention the librarian was a witch? And she has a warlock friend that is hot for her?
4. There's a curse!

Anne manages to weave a story with all these things and then bring it to a conclusion that is more than satisfying, as well as a little surprising to the reader.

I read this one my computer, which is something I seldom do with ebooks, and I couldn't stop, even though I was getting a crick in my neck!

Definitely worth reading!

Rating: 5 stars

About the Author:
Annie Seaton lives on the beautiful east coast of Australia, where she loves sitting in her writing chair, gazing at the ocean and writing stories. She has always been fascinated by all things historical and has found her niche writing contemporary romance and steampunk, where strong heroines and brooding heroes fight together to make their alternative world a better place.

Her debut novel, Holiday Affair, a contemporary romance set in the South Pacific was released as part of Entangled Publishing’s Indulgence line in March. The sequel Italian Affair is currently underway Watch out for the story of Tom and Brianna the sex therapist who spices up his life!

Winter of the Passion Flower was released through Lyrical Press at the same time. Currently immersed in the creation of Book Two, a full length novel, the adventures of Sofia and her Scottish laird, Annie is already looking forward to the rest of the series, particularly the adventures of Indigo’s four boys: Jago and Jory, Ruan and Kit. Strong sassy heroines and rebellious heroes have a rollicking good time as they work to make the world a better place--albeit their own steampunk world.

Blind Lust, a paranormal novella will be released by Musa Publishing on 15th June.

Annie lives with her husband, and ‘Bob’ the dog and two white cats, in a house next to the beach in a small coastal town of New South Wales. Their two children are grown and married and she loves spending time gardening, walking on the beach and spoiling her two grandchildren.

Twitter: @annieseaton26

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Breaking The Unbroken

I'm attempted to use the new blogger interface, AGAIN.

I tried it when they first introduced it a few months ago, and I have to say, it sucks.

It messes up posts, it argues with me and it generally makes me swear a lot.

I don't know what it is about companies that feel the need to upgrade services that aren't broken. Facebook does it all the time. I hate Facebook. I'm about done with it.

Why did they have to change blogger?

Now it does freaky things to my template. Things that make me want to beat the living crap out of the computer, and it isn't even the computer's fault.

I understand the need to update things, but why change them completely when the system is working?

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Oreo Cookie Ice Cream Cake

This is a pretty simple ice cream cake. There are only 5 ingredients needed.

15 Oreo cookies
1 tub of Cool whip (Any variety you desire)
Enough ice cream to cover the crushed cookies
Chocolate syrup
Your choice of nuts (this is also optional)

For my b-day ice cream cake I chose Double Stuff Oreos, which I had a great time beating up. The sandwich bag died before they crumbled. (Note to the wise, don't pulverize too much or you won't have a good crust)

Spray the 8 x 11 pan with butter spray and add your crushed Oreos. Then place in the freezer for ten minutes so that it firms up.

Next is the ice cream. Make sure it has melted a little so that it spreads with ease. My choice was Black Raspberry Chip by Breyers:

The best way to cover the cookie crust is by using an ice cream scoop. About 7 sizable scoops will cover the cookies nicely.  Then spread it out evenly with a spatula.   When you have the ice cream spread over the cookies you can then add your chocolate syrup and peanuts. I used Hershey's syrup and a store brand of Honey Roasted Peanuts that I chopped up.
The dessert will really be looking pretty now.

                                    
Cover with foil and freeze for a few hours so that the ice cream hardens. Then you cover the ice cream, chocolate and nuts with Cool Whip and more crushed Oreos. Return to the freezer for several hours before serving.

The finished dessert will look like this.