Shelli Stevens

So I was at lunch yesterday and the most bizarre thing happened. I think I got checked out. Now I know to some of you that’s as common as breathing, but trust me, I’m no hottie as of late. But I was at an asian buffet, grabbing some soda, and I passed a table of guys speaking spanish. And I walked passed them, caught them staring, and then they said something to each other and I heard the word ‘bonita’. I speak a little spanish, so I think it means cute. Might they have been referring to mwa as cute? Don’t kill my vision here, it made my day!

Fun stuff!!! To celebrate the release of The Pirate’s Booty tomorrow I’ll be holding a Treasure Hunt! It will start on my website My Website and I’ll post the first clue on the main page. Follow the clues until you find the Ruby Brooch! Once you find it send an email to shellistevens@shellistevens.com, and tell me where you found the brooch. You’ll be entered in a drawing for a $10 gift certificate to Cobblestone Press! The first clue will be posted sometime in the morning (PST), and the drawing will be held at 3pm (PST). So I really hope you guys do it! It’s easy and fun.

So come on back tomorrow for an excerpt of The Pirate’s Booty, and the Friday releases!!!

To end my Pirate week, M.E. Ellis found this for me so I just HAD to add it to my blog. So…. What’s your pirate name? Can’t say I’m crazy about mine.

Your Pirate Name Is…

Lieutenant-Colonel Hairy Legs

So why is it I can write 2k one day, and 2 words the next! Argh!!! Of course I was really indecisive about the ’situation’ my heroine is in right now. That I cannot speak of in my blog, but where there is a very entertaining post in Divas right now. So if you’re a Diva, you should check it out in the Steamy/Alternative section. If you dare!

So we’re two weeks out from Nationals. And I still have not practiced, let alone written my pitch. *wince* I really need to buckle down and come up with something. And I’m also freaking out a bit about my appointment. I have my appointment right after the PI luncheon. And I guess we’re walking from the hotel to the aquarium where the luncheon’s being held. I’ll be wearing a dress and nice heels, and I’ll have to run back to the hotel for my appointment. In really hot weather, over 100 degrees + humidity. I’m kinda worried about the makeup melting off my face and my feet falling off. I suppose there’s the taxi idea, but I’ve only taken one once in my life. I was drunk and with a bunch of girls So I’m not really sure how that whole taxi thing works. Yes, I’m sheltered.

Okay, I’m so not interesting today. So let’s move onto the…

Interesting Pirate Fact #3: What are some common forms of Pirate punishment?MAROONING was a big one. This punishment usually consisted of leaving the accused stranded on a small, deserted island or a tiny raft to die. Many times the accused was left with a small pistol in order to kill himself before he was eaten by sharks or perished from sun stroke or starvation. (Suicide was considered a more honorable death to the pirates.) Marooning was the popular choice of punishment for deserters.

And now for my famous movie pirate pic of the day. We have the Cary Elwes as the Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride. “As you wish….”

So I went to Whidbey Island yesterday with the intent to spend the night, but it was just too crowded. Two of my brother’s were there, plus my parents, and then Emma and I. And my parents wanted to sleep on the couch so Emma and I could have a bed. I was like, umm, no. You’re senior citizens. So we spent the day there, had a fun, then headed out after dinner.

I only got about 400 words written up there, so I came home determined to write. And I did! I stayed up until 1am and got 2k! Woo whoo! But I’m kinda wondering about something being done to my heroine. Totally inappropriate to write here, so I think I’ll post a message in Romance Divas in the alternative steamy section. Hee hee, scared yet? As well you should be!

I’m on day two of the diet and doing all right. Dinner last night (since I was at Whidbey) ended up being more than I should of ate. It was a bbq. I had a turkey burger though. But breakfast and lunch I did fabulous. I gotta work in some kind of exercise today. Fake belly dancing with Emma to the Gypsy Kings!

Interesting Pirate Fact #2: Did Pirate’s really have hooks for hands?: The theory probably originated from the story “Peter Pan”. It’s true that quite a few pirates lost a hand in battle, and it was not uncommon for a pirate to search for a useful substitute, which would be handy around the ship. A hook was relatively easy to construct from onboard ship materials, so it is highly probable (not certain) that in some cases it was used as a temporary or permanent prosthetic hand. A hook could be easily constructed from a wooden bowl placed over the stump with a hook fashioned from extra ship metal by the blacksmith. This combination could be strapped to the arm with some leather.

So here’s my pirate of the day, Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook!

Okay since I’m heading out of town for the night, I wanted to throw a little blog post up before I leave. For the real chatty one, see yesterdays. This is the kick off to my Pirate’s week (Because The Pirate’s Booty comes out Friday) so all week long I’ll be posting pirate related pictures and maybe facts if I can find them

But first here’s my book and a blurb

When her doggy daycare business is threatened with foreclosure, Renee is at a loss of how to raise the money. Then she remembers something from a diary that has been passed down through her family for generations. With renewed hope and a slightly crazy plan, Renee decides to crash a party thrown by the descendant of a pirate. She intends to steal back a brooch taken from her ancestor centuries ago. But what she doesn’t realize is that it’s a sex party, and Devon Murray is as notorious as his pirate ancestor

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Interesting Pirate fact #1: Why did Pirates wear earrings? The tradition of wearing earrings goes back to days when earrings weren’t thought of as jewelry but were worn as amulets to protect you form evil spirits. This carried over to pirates who believed that earrings could help them to see better and could actually improve their eyesight.

And now here’s my first Pirate of the week. Because I know half the world lusts after him. I must be the only one who doesn’t. LOL. From Pirate’s of the Carribean… Captain Jack. Isn’t that his name?

Well… there’s a lot of changes going on. So everything’s kind of in readjustment mode right now. I was stressing out about it yesterday… but I’m doing alright considering. In a better mood today.

Lacy and her kids came over and we had the best time outside. We’re from Seattle and since we’re heading off to Atlanta, we tried to burn out pasty white bodies into some form of a tan. I succeeded in the burn part, now I just have to hope it fades to a tan. Ouch. Emma burned too, and she had sun block on. I think it hit 80 and the humidity is awful.

Well I’m thinking I might go away tomorrow afternoon for a break. For an overnight trip to the parents cabin on Whidbey Island. There’s no internet, so it’d force me to work on my caveman entry. Which I’ve left off in the same spot for the last two days. And my heroine isn’t in a comfortable position, in fact she’s quite pissed at how I’ve left things. Thinks I’m a really sadistic witch. She told me so herseflf. So some forced writing time would be good. Plus we’ll get to walk on the beach and Emma adores it up there.

Tomorrow I’m starting my two-week-out-from-Nationals-last-attempt-crash-diet to lose a few pounds. *Sigh* I will do this. I wanna lose 4 lbs minimum!

I want to remind people about my contest, that you need to check back here on Friday that 21st to find out who the winner is! Some peopl who entered don’t have ways for me to contact them. So check back cause it might just be you!!

Okay that pic of the day… this is one reason I’m going away for a break. Because I’m constantly on the computer. If I could, I would totally redo my bathroom like this! Anyone else ever feel like that?

I’m sorry I didn’t blog hop and come say hi to you guys yesterday. I wanted to, and I went to a few… but I was in a bit of a funky mood. It’s sort of gone, but then not really. I’m frustrated, stressed, annoyed, just a jumble of emotions over various things.

Last night I went and hung out with Lacy Danes, my crit partner and friend. She’s got two kids around Emma’s age, so we hang out with them a lot. It’s great for the kids and us! But last night Emma was with her grandparents, so Lacy and I just hung out and had wine and yacked. Yacked about Nationals, and men, and life… especially Nationals though. I’m so excited!

Emma’s back today. Arrived home this morning, but late enough so I got to sleep in until 8:30… it was amazing. I swear, have kids and sleeping in is a rusty memory. So we went swimming in her plastic pool, ate popsicles, and now she’s lying on the couch watching Aristocats before she takes her nap. Well in between spuratic bursts of getting up to play with her My Little Pony. Isn’t it funny how the toys of our generation have come back? I used to LOVE Strawberry Shortcake. I’d smell her head all day. Emma digs the ponies and the Care Bears.

So I’m still plugging away at the Caveman entry, but not getting as much done as I should. BAD SHELLI! Oh well, I’ll work on it when Emma passes out.

Okay, pic of the day… I haven’t shocked or grossed you out in awhile. So I think it’s time. This one might give you the willies a bit. It does me, I can’t really look at it. I guess the person really got nailed…

Ooooh my gosh! I got a release date for The Pirate’s Booty! It’s a week from today, June 14th! We weren’t sure when it would happen, we had a ‘hopeful’ date, but because of certain circumstances with the editing we couldn’t be sure. But we pulled through just dandy and it’s gonna happen! Woo whoo! Now I just gotta catch up on promo’ing. I’ve got a week. ACK! I’ll do some excerpts next week. If that’s okay. Not too many, cause I know you’re not here to get slapped with promo.

But speaking of, you’re getting todays new releases at Cobblestone. My usual Friday But first my pic of the day! To celebrate the release of another Pirate’s sensation, The Pirate’s of the Carribean, here’s a sexy pic of Keira Knightley. Mmm… Just like boning a coat rack. *Shudder* Does anyone else just think she’s gross being that thin? Or is it just me? Quick, somebody shove some biscuits and gravy down her throat! She looks a little better in the before pic (the black dress) but not much.

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The following books can be purchased at Cobblestone Press

Sexy stripper by night, staid corporate raider by day, Kelsey’s not looking for love, only sex and power. Then, Jordan walks into her life, rough, tough karate champion who dares her to risk her heart on a night of searing passion.

I Dare You takes both women to the brink of love and hate while they struggle to contain the fire burning between them. Together, they emit fireworks, hearts beating as one, denying the hooks of love clawing at them. Will love have time to blossom? Or, will it die in the ashes of a stalker’s insanity?

In book one of the Lunar Mates series, Darius Stewart is banished and offered the leadership of a new pack. He has a new pack to settle and a rogue wolf terrorizing the local population, threatening to expose their species. The last thing he needs is a mate further complicating his life.

That’s just fine with Meg O’Reilly. A witch, she knows something is not right in her town. Good werewolves, bad werewolves, and the possessive, bossy, sexy Alpha wolf trying to order her around. Life’s never been so complicated.

Dori Wagner’s dreams of true love were shattered by an obsessively violent boyfriend. Now a timid hermit, she pens her erotic fantasies in a diary. Then a new neighbor shows a knack for knowing her every desire. Is he a stalker or the man of her dreams?

Sloan Michaels is a psychic who dreams prophetic visions, and when they involve strangers, they’re usually bad. Tired of being viewed as an oddity, he moves to a new neighborhood, vowing to keep his ability a secret. But that changes when he starts dreaming of kissing his quirky downstairs neighbor.

Hola everyone! Thanks for visiting my blog and always saying the sweetest things. It’s just great to check my blog and see people who visit me! I love you guys!

And don’t worry, I’m getting all you people dropping by for the contest entered. And if you haven’t entered yet you really should. It’s so easy! And it’s a fabulous, fun prize than includes nummy chocolate. Mmm. Chocolate. Details at my site. I mean half you guys come here anyways, you just gotta write those two little words and you’re entered!!!

And thanks for the virtual butt kicking, because I made myself write last night, and got 1k done! Woo whoo! And I left off at a perfect point, where I can’t wait to get back to it. My heroine is currently naked in high heels. Who Ha! So I need to start writing before she gets too cold. Throw a blanket named Mason on her!

So I’m Emma free for two days. She’s gone with her grandparents and cousins to Whidbey Island for a bit. I’m picking her up on Saturday! I’m not even sure what to do with myself. I’m going to hang out with Patricia tomorrow and we’re supposed to walk around Green Lake, which is 2.5 miles. But the weather has once again turned nasty in Seattle. So we’ll see. Maybe I can talk her into a movie. I’m kinda itching to see Superman after Vivienne raved about it.

I was talking to Karen online yesterday (She’s a new Cobblestone Press author! Hi Karen!) and she was telling me to read Dr. Phil’s book on weight loss. Since I suck at staying motivated to diet. And so I bought it half.com for $0.75 man I love that site. But I don’t buy romances there or at half-priced books anymore. I realized that doesn’t help my fellow romance authors much.

One thing you may not know about me, is I’ve got a big fear of heights. So this pic of the day may not seem too impressive, but to me it’s horrific. So here it is, an idiot going through great lengths to get a photo.

So why didn’t anyone tell me being a mom with a toddler can suck on the 4th of July? See, while the rest of the world was out watching fireworks, and having picnics, I stayed home. Emma is just at that age, 2 1/2, where she can’t stay awake to watch fireworks. And where I live we’re not allowed to shoot them off, and you have to drive into the city and join the mob of people waiting to watch the ‘Big’ ones. And Emma can barely stand in line at the grocery store, let alone stay seated on a blanket for hours on end!

And then, this is a rare confession so enjoy it, I was watching the Seattle fireworks on the local station and they started panning the crowd. And I saw all these couples watching with excitement, and cuddling, or sitting together as a family. And I had that pang. That pang of Oh I wanna guy to hold me like that. While we sing along with the cheesy music being played in time to the fireworks. Usually I’m happy being single, with just me and Emma–who is my world. But every once in awhile, a bit of reality of how the rest of the world works slips in and I let myself have that fantasy. Where I’m with a guy, leaning against a hard chest, with his hairy arms wrapped around me. Ha! Killed the moment, didn’t I? Hairy arms. *snicker* But actually I like guys with body hair, so sue me.

Anyway, I woke up this morning and the nostalgic moment was gone. I’m once again fine being single. Now if someone could just yell at me and tell me to get my butt in gear and start writing the Caveman entry again. I was doing great for a couple of days, but now… now I’m just a bit ho hum about everything. Grrr. And I really like what I’ve written so far, and Lacy likes what I’ve written, so why aren’t I on the Writing Train going 100mph?

All right, I’ve blabbed on enough. How was your fourth everyone? Your long weekend if you had one?

But then again, on that dating note, maybe I should just find myself a good guy to settle down with. Nice, wholesome, doesn’t make waves. Someone like, say, him…. or is that a her?

First, Happy 4th of July from Seattle

I blogged over on LLOO today, check it out. LLOO Blog. Kind of a funny one! And don’t forget to check out my review at Literary Sass! Literary Sass.

I decided to do an interview with fellow Cobblestone Press author, Brandi Broughton. This is a new thing for me, that I may end up trying out on my blog on Tuesdays. Because I’ll be at LLOO on those days anyways. So this helps me get the word out about various authors. Giving back to the writing community so to speak.

http://www.lycanpacks.com/), but I’d like to add that it is an expansion of the story found in LYCAN INSTINCT. Hidden portals scattered throughout the site enable visitors to “sneak” into the Lykos Institute’s secret operations or “break into” the police files for cases found in the book. So, it offers readers an interactive journey into the world of the Lycan Packs, which I created in the novel…a behind the scenes visit so-to-speak.