Shelli Stevens

Well, I have to say that I had a really great time out at fondue the other night! Adult time was fun and the food was tasty. I hope we do it again.

And for my YAY news of the weekend: my contract with my cell phone is up and so I got a new one for basically free! Here it is in a picture below. I hope it doesn’t suck! It’s a Nokia something or other. I tried to find one that had the best reviews I know it’s kind of girly and pointless to say isn’t it pretty? But isn’t it?

I was tagged by Lynnette Baughman!

Six things that make me happy!

1.  Cuddling with my daughter

2.  When I’m on a writing purge

3.  Bubble baths with a page turner book

4.  Being with a guy who can make my stomach flip

5.  Being outdoors and reconnecting with nature

6.  Spending time with friends who remind me I’m more than a mother and author.

Ummm…should I tag people? I suppose I could. But I always feel bad. Like maybe someone didn’t want to be tagged (highly likely) or maybe someone wanted to and is upset that I didn’t tag them (highly unlikely). So…do it if you wanna!!

Dawn Halliday is at Naughty and Spice. Come on by!!

http://www.naughty-and-spice.com/

My recent fortune cookie fortune: You have a charming way with words and should write a book.

Hey, good call. I’ll jump right on that.

Well, I finished the copy edits! I went to Lacy’s and we hung out while the kids hung out. And she was there to answer my occasional question of….okay what does this mark mean? So I finished them by spreading it out over 24 hours–because, really, what’s the point in dragging that out?

And then Sunday I hired my 14-year-old niece to come over and be my personal assistant for the day. Yup, I had her go through and highlight all potential bookstores from this list I ordered from Pat Rouse (which has bookstores and bookclubs and such–great investment. Ask me about it and I’ll forward you Pat’s info!). So she did highlighting, printed mailing labels and then stuffed envelopes with bookmarks and magnets. All while I did my copy edits. It was completely worth the money and it gave my niece a way to earn some cash besides babysitting!

Finally, I’m excited to say I’m going out Thursday night for some bonafide grown up time! With Julia Hunter who is just all kinds of fabulous. And her boyfriend and his friend. We’re doing fondue. How fun is that?

::yeahthat::

http://www.naughty-and-spice.com/

So I got my copy edits yesterday! I spoke to my editor on the phone on Thursday (he’s so fabulous) when he called to warn me they were coming and to go over some info about them. Mainly, how they work. Because, you know, I’m a ‘copy edit virgin’. All my editing thus far has been electronic and using track changes.

Anyway, Mr. Fed Ex showed up yesterday (I think it was Fed Ex) and handed me my package. And I opened it and went…wow! Look at all those Post Its! And I’m only going to briefly mention how someone in my household accidentally threw the copy edits in the recycling bin. I about needed to be revived. Fortunately I found them before it could be dumped.

Sooo my plans for today will include going to hang over at Lacy Danes’s pad, letting our kids play while she gives me the run down on how this works. I think Peter (editor) gave me a good idea, but I love reassurance

I should mention, and I’m so excited, that I have a few signings coming up in the month of Feb/March! Ms. Lacy Danes was so kind to get these set up for a bunch of us local authors. More details to come soon, so be on the lookout!

Anyway, hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!

What’s Sex to You? (Or How The Romance Genre Documented Women’s Liberation). Elaine Levine has a FANTASTIC topic over at Naughty and Spice. And she’s got a contest going on. Come on by. You REALLY don’t want to miss this one!

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis said Wednesday they will request that Congress allocate $5 billion for a bailout of the adult entertainment industry.

Flynt has been quoted as saying:

“With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It’s time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America.”

and

“Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex.”

Read more here.

Today I wanted to pimp the release of a few books I’d recommend!

The first one is guaranteed to spice up your V day!! Plus two of my friends, Lacy Danes and Megan Hart (both fabulous) are in it! Check it out, it’s going to be hot!

A RED HOT VALENTINE’S DAY
HarperCollins Avon Red • ISBN-10: 0061689394
ISBN-13: 978-0061689390 • January 6, 2009
Amazon.com • Barnes & Noble • Chapters.ca

A Red Hot Valentine’s Day — Better than a box of chocolates…

Cupid Is Hot To Trot!

One fateful weekend at a country estate, a beautiful, well-bred widow is caught between a rock and a very hard place when she must choose between two deliciously irresistible lovers…in Lacy Danes’s seductive tale of courtship a la mode, Torn Desires.

Long-Distance lovers Edie and Ty are counting the hours until their scorching Valentine’s Day reunion, each titillating the other with steamy letters describing their erotic journeys. And getting there is definitely half the fun in Megan Hart’s wickedly wild Get There.

Eternal damnation has its perks—especially for a voluptuous succubus who is about to receive a very special, very hot Valentines Day “gift” from her demon lover…in Jackie Kessler’s ode to paranormal passion, Hell Is Where The Heart Is.

London’s most irresistible rake has one week to prevent the woman he loves from marrying another. And he plans to do so by adeptly employing his most well practiced arts—seduction…sensation…and erotic love— in Jess Michaels’s sumptuous feast of juicy Regency romance, By Valentines Day.

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The second book is by my friend Anya Bast and I’m just drooling big time over this cover!

Berkley Sensation

Elemental Witches 3
ISBN-10: 0425225534
ISBN-13: 978-0425225530
Release Date: January 6th, 2009

With the immense powers of an earth witch, Claire isn’t destined to be a demon’s handmaiden. Yet this has been her fate since she was six, when her warlock mother brought her to Eudae. Now as an adult, she’s about to discover her true power—and how far others are willing to go to take it away…

As part of a mission with the Coven, Adam Tyrell rescues Claire from her enslavement—and finds himself immediately taken with the beautiful witch. But this charming playboy soon learns that it’s easier to steal Claire from demons than win her heart, for her life as a servant has ravaged her spirit. But with Adam determined to protect her from the warlocks who want to harness her magick for evil, Claire’s resistance starts to give way—and they find themselves in the heat of danger, surrendering to the lure of their deepest desires…

* * * * * * * * * * *

And then finally this just looks like such a fun read by another friend, Elisabeth Naughton!

Dorchester Love Spell
ISBN: 978-0-505-52793-6

Oh, is he handsome. And charming. And sexy as all get out.  Dr. Lisa Maxwell isn’t the type to go home with a guy she barely knows. But, hey, this is Italy and the red-blooded Rafe Sullivan seems much more enticing than cataloging a bunch of dusty artifacts.

After being fully seduced, Lisa wakes to an empty bed and, worse yet, an empty safe. She’s staked her career as an archaeologist on collecting the three Furies, a priceless set of ancient Greek reliefs. Now the one she had is gone. But Lisa won’t just get mad. She’ll get even.

She tracks Rafe to Florida, and finds the sparks between them blaze hotter than the Miami sun. He may still have her relic, but he’ll never find all three without her. And they’re not the only ones on the hunt. To beat the other treasure seekers, they’ll have to partner up—because suddenly Lisa and Rafe are in a race just to stay alive.

I’m holding a new contest for the members of my newsletter list! Check it out on my Fun Stuff page.

So, yesterday I like deep cleaned my room. I’m missing a couple of necklaces (my kid takes them) and I was on the hunt. And you know what I realized? I have so much…junk. Tons and tons of stuff I just reorganize all the time. Do I ever use some of it? No. It got me to thinking that I really don’t need all this stuff. People today have way too much. I’m going to go through and purge through some things. And stop buying! I don’t need a zillion pairs of underwear–no matter how great Victoria’s Secrets Semi-Annual sale is.

I think…well, I really want to try and reduce my carbon footprint. Be more green. Yes this somewhat relates to my junk rant. Because all my junk eventually ends up in a landfill. So I’m going to research what I can do to help, and really try to think before I buy things (better on the pocket book too!).

And my next deep thought of the day…wow. During this deep cleaning, I found a little diary I’d written back when I was twenty-three and dating a guy. It detailed our time together and it was so…wow. I don’t know, I was a bit dramatic at times and yet still very realistic (that part hasn’t gone away). It was really sweet to read, though. I kept thinking I should toss it the journal, but then decided against it. I think the big key was I love seeing how resiliant the human heart is. When we think we’re in love and we’ll never love again, and yet how easily we bounce back. Fun stuff. Plus, it’ll be fun to traumatize my kid if she ever reads it. I have this great detailed massage scene.