The Dynamic Trio - Blog

I’m in a weird mood. Tired. But energized. I have a bit of a headache, but still am tempted to go run around in the (yet again) almost 100-degree weather. I have the urge to do a bunch of housework…but don’t want to do any. I’m just all mixed up! But not…LOL!

Oh, and Hatsept Heat is available for the Kindle! I’m so stoked! Also, the first two Vampire Council of Ethics books just appeared there. And they have this neat little ‘Free Sample’ thing where you can check out the book before you buy it. Now is that cool or what?

And now I’m hungry, but not sure what I want to eat, so I think this ‘What Food Are You’ quiz is perfect. I’m Sushi!

You Are Japanese Food

Strange yet delicious. Contrary to popular belief, you’re not always eaten raw.

Also, if you haven’t been to listen to the radio show I did with Mandy Roth and Michelle Pillow, be sure to check it out. And if course I mentioned my girls, SHELLEY and LAUREN! Why? Cause they RAWK!

I was on the radio last night with Mandy Roth and Michelle Pillow on the Raven Vampire Radio Show last night. It was a hoot! Gia Dawn (she writes cool books for Samhain) was on, too. Get the four of us together in the same room and we just take over the world!

I did spend some time talking about the release of Hatsept Heat (which came out on Tuesday. (To purchase, Visit Samhain Publishing ), but we spent more time cracking up and being bad than anything else. Geesh, no surprise there ;D

To listen to the show, click HERE –> BlogTalk Raven Radio.

Meanwhile, I’m at work sitting in a training class. I’ve been teaching all week and asked another staff member to come in and touch on a subject that she’s an expert at. So, I’m sitting here listening to her talk to my students while I write this blog. Class is over this afternoon - I have to give the students an exam first.

And when the day is over, I’m gonna count down to FRIDAY!!!!

I’ve been getting back to the next Vampire Council of Ethics story - it’s Alaina Bixler and Shale Krulm’s tale. But I just can’t think of a name for it. So, I’m just going to forget about it for now, and get on with the story. I’ve been jumping back and forth between working on the outline and actually writing. There’s this song by India.Arie called ‘Brown Skin’ that just makes me all hot and bothered. You can bet I’ll be listening to it as I write the steamy lovin’.

O, and in case you don’t remember, Shale Krulm almost got his butt kicked by Bix in Carinian’s Seeker when he spoke to Carin out of turn. But it’s years later and now…HE’S FREAKING HOT!!!

Talk later!

And don’t forget that HATSEPT HEAT came out on Tuesday! Woo!

TJ

It’s out everybody! Oh my God, I couldn’t be more thrilled that Hatsept Heat, the 3rd book in the Vampire Council of Ethics hit the cyber shelves yesterday from Samhain!

To purchase, Visit Samhain Publishing

They chatted amicably but Kenoe didn’t miss the occasional frown whenever he let his guard down long enough for his anxiety, though slight, to creep down the bond. Bottom line—he had no desire to see the you’re-crazy-as-a-loon skepticism in her eyes when he told her what he was. God knew she wouldn’t believe him.

And he was less than enthusiastic about her reaction to the fact that he, Mr. Law Enforcement, as she called him, was investigating her closest relative for something that had nothing to do with honest vamps, and everything to do with Dr. Jekyll humans.

Not to mention the possibility of her flat-out rejecting him.

Ruthlessly squashing down all concern, he filled his mind with lighter thoughts. Actually just thinking on what a fabulous dinner she’d prepared for him, what a kind and considerate woman she was, a woman so sweet yet with an edge sharp enough to cut himself on. The perfect alpha. His perfect alpha.

And she’d prepared a dessert of strawberries covered with brown sugar syrup, laced with lemon zest. Oh yeah, she was a keeper. He only hoped she would feel the same when he told her…
When had she moved from her chair?

Shinju grinned and pushed his empty dishes off to the side. She held her hand out to him.

“What?”

“Up, handsome.”

Wondering what she was on about, he didn’t move but cocked his head to the side and waited instead.

“Naoru. Get. Up.” Her tone was stern, but not bitchy. He stood and allowed himself to be positioned to her liking. Mischief danced along their developing link and tickled the nerve endings at the base of his skull.

All of a piece, Shinju pushed her desires down the bond with such force they slammed into his brain and streaked clear down to his nuts. He reached to unbutton his shirt. A playful slap to his fingers caught him so off-guard, he froze for a second.

A snarled “mine” made it crystal clear that she was the only one getting to touch tonight. Or at least for the time being. Dropping his hands to his side, his spitfire female popped open each button slowly, deliberately, then peeled the garment off his shoulders. All the while she whispered what she wanted to do to him and let those wickedly talented fingers of hers run over the exposed skin, raising chill bumps along the way.

“God, Naoru, you’re so studly gorgeous.”

“Studly? Is that a typical Japanese word?”

“Remember I’m not a typical Japanese female. I’ve got a bit of sistah in me and I just have to let her out to play every now and then.” This was said as her fingernails scraped gently over the planes of his stomach and dipped into the hollows and ridges of his quaking abs. It made him tingle from the roots of his hair to his toes. Dayum!

“Amazing. I love your skin, so fair, smooth. Perfect. Like fresh cream. And that dusting of platinum silver hair on your chest. I missed that the last time I had you nearly naked. Is the hair around your cock the same beautiful shade?” she teased.

Holy shit! Kenoe balled his trembling hands into fists to keep from ripping her clothes off and taking her to the floor right then.

Instead, he said, “You’re being awfully naughty, but I’m all yours, lovely, so go ahead and find out.”

“I can’t wait to see what your fabulous cock looks like sliding into my pussy. I missed you so much. Dreamed about you each night until I was so hot and bothered. Kinda like I am now.”

“Shinju, you take too much longer to touch me and I’m going to have to do something about that. Sssss!” Her touch had moved down his chest, past his waist and down to the swelling ridge in his pants. Then she pushed him backwards until his ass hit the edge of the table.
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…and it was so danged funny I thought I’d post it here today.

In HATSEPT HEAT, Vampire Council of Ethics Book 3 (coming this Tuesday, July 29th, by the way) our heroine happens to be a culinary whiz who keeps one of our favorite vampires in dessert heaven (and that’s both in and out of bed – woohoo!). Well, it got me to thinking about some of my own culinary experiences.

As most of you know, both my daughter and I are total geniuses in the kitchen. My speciality is…actually that’s hard ‘cause I’m pretty good at cooking just about anything. My daughter’s specialty is baking and Japanese food.

But I’m still at a total loss. I’m not the Dessert Diva or anything but this is beyond believable. SOMEONE ACTUALLY SCREWED UP BANANA PUDDING! How do you possibly mess up something so wonderfully delicious and simple as banana pudding?

Yes, people, it has happened to me. I went to a potluck and one of the dishes I looked forward to after the typical spaghetti, stringbean casserole and chili (you know, typical potluck food) was, you guessed it, the banana pudding.

Basically, you just take some vanilla pudding and layer it in a casserole dish with vanilla wafers, or savory ginger snaps if you’re so inclined. Top it off with some whipped cream and toss it in the fridge to chill. Tadaaa! Banana pudding at it’s finest.

So, I can’t figure out how this particular batch tasted like burned tires on a hot summer day layered over some freshly tarred blacktop. Gack! I won’t say who made it ‘cause if she reads this blog, she’ll kill me, especially since she thinks it tasted more like melted crayons with a bit of vanilla stirred in and she’ll be upset that I used my own analogy.

Then, there was the girl’s night out I held at my house one evening. A bowl of potato salad showed up…and it tasted like steamed cabbage without the steamed bit. Now, uh, since the only ingredients in potato salad is potatoes, spices and a bit of mayo, where the heck did the cabbage thing come from since there was no cabbage in it?

So, have you ever encountered a dish that you believed was impossible to get wrong? More nosily (I just can’t help it, I’ve gotta know ;D) have you personally done a dish that you knew how to really prepare well…only to have it come out like you’d made it in someone elses kitchen with a blindfold on?

I’ve gotta have feedback on this one! And feel free to provide recipes ;D

TJ

We’re in the airport on the way home. Even with our flight delayed I couldn’t be happier to be on my way back to Colorado. And it’s not because I think Colorado is so fabulous (can’t stand the place) but…MY BED IS THERE! I totally loved vacation but there’s no place like your own home, your own bed, your own bathroom, your own kitchen, etc.

I saw that Lauren has a new book called FATED - be sure to pick it up. The Cascadia Series rocks! Shelley also has some pretty cool things hitting the shelves, too. I love her Middlemarch Mates series.

And for me, it’s 5 days and counting until HATSEPT HEAT, Vampire Council of Ethics Book 3 comes along! Can’t wait!!!

My plane will be boarding shorly, so I’m off to gather all my crap together. I pack like I”m going on a month-long trip or something - geesh, who needs so many clothes for a one week trip? Anyway, catch ya’ll later ;D

TJ

With Hatsept Heat coming on Tuesday, needless to say I went to sleep thinking about it. And after waking from the most delicious and decadent dream of me and a vamp right out of the pages of one of my Vampire Council of Ethics books, I rolled over in appreciation of air conditioning and thought…what the hell was I thinking to book a vacation in Florida in July? My god, it’s so freakin’ hot here I swear I’m tempted to put ice down my drawers just to cool off a bit.

Unfortunately my daughter got sick yesterday. We think it’s something she ate the day before, but he poor thing was throwing up and had a high fever. I’m glad she’s cool this morning because last night she was so hot I was concerned we’d have to take her to a hospital, which is no fun when you’re AT home, let alone AWAY from home in a city you’re not familiar with.

I’m getting ready to run to the airport to pick up a friend of mine I haven’t seen in years. She’s lives on this coast in South Carolina so she’s flying down to hang out with us for a couple of days. My kids are WAY excited to see her again. If I can talk her into taking some picture I’ll put them up when I get home. Oh, and want to hear the dumbest thing ever? We’re on vacation and NONE of us brought a camera, so we’re reduced to using the ones on our phones. LOL!

See you later,

TJ

PS - Thank you to all of you who sent me notes after reading the TJ On A Tangent newsletter. This has been a really challenging half-a-year for me. I’m looking forward to the second half with some serious renewed hope ;D

I’m just curious how many people have tried a dating site. I know I’ve talked to at least two or three personal friends who met their husbands through Match.com. I’d love to know what the experience was like for anyone who’s tried dating this way.

I checked into eHarmony but, uh, they rejected me. Can you believe they actually said that I’m too nice and so balanced that people tend to think I’m too good to be true, so they couldn’t possibly match a person like me. Now is that ri-damned-diculous or what? LOL!

I’m actually considering a service called “It’s Just Lunch” because frankly I haven’t dated in so long I don’t even know where to go to meet a quality person, let alone find a date. Gah, I had no idea how expensive it could be to get someone to match you up to have coffee with a person! And even though I’m not looking for a husband (dinner and a movie suits me just fine, thank you) do I really want to pay to be set up? On the other hand, if I want to meet someone that I don’t mind actually being in the same room with, perhaps paying is the way to go?

What do you think? By the way, here’s some facts from the It’s Just Lunch website. Some of ‘em are interesting. Take number 6 for example. It this is true, they sure don’t seem to be in Colorado!:

1) 11: The number of single friends the average 27 year old has.

2) 76% of Men: Prefer brunettes over blondes.

3) Wednesday: The best day for a first date according to 41% of singles.

4) One Hour: The time it takes for a woman to determine whether or not she wants to see a man again.

5) 15 Minutes: The time it takes for a man to determine whether or not he wants to see a woman again.

6) 110 Million: The number of single adults in the United States.

7) 43% of Singles: Have Googled someone on the internet before their date.

You haven’t seen an issue of TJ On A Tangent in quite a while, but it’s coming on July 15th with new articles, sneak peeks into the new novel I’ve just contracted with Ellora’s Cave, news on the new Vampire Council of Ethics books coming next month, a cool summer recipe and something very catty.

Get in on the fun by subscribing. And we will never, ever give out your e-mail addy so be assured you’ll get no spamming from this quarter (grrrr, I hate spammers!)

Happy Wednesday!

TJ

I’m blogging over at the Samhain Publishing weblog to celebrate the new release of Serati’s Flame in PRINT! Squeeeeee!

Skip on over the Samhain and pay me a visit ;D

TJ