Wednesday, December 19, 2012

In which I cause mayhem...

...by hanging out at someone else's place and talk to, well...interrogate, myself.  It's pretty edgy.  Don't think those bar boys are ever going to be the same.  I think they thought writers were a quiet, thoughtful bunch.

I'm at fellow Darksider's & SARA's Eleni's Taverna, discussing (with me) about various things important to the universe.  Such as why Horatio Cane is so pasty, even though he lives in Florida.  I'm telling you, it's ballsy journalism at it's best.

You'd best go look at me make a larrakin of myself now, because there's every chance they're going to have me committed after this one.  :)

But until then,  me and mine wish you and yours:


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Oh, to be in an alternate universe right now...



Romance + Sci Fi + Holidays = A GALACTIC HOLIDAY!

I'm donning my pimping pants to yell from the back dock of my space station:

A GALACTIC HOLIDAY is OUT NOW!

Are you like me?  I love Christmas with adoration bordering on pathological, but sometimes the crazy lead-up blows.  But I HAVE A CURE!

How about an alternate universe?  A few stolen hours getting festive, futuristic and SCHMEXY?

Lose a few blissful hours on A GALACTIC HOLIDAY.

Anna Hackett has teamed up with Stacy Gail and Sasha Summers to bring you her first sci-fi romance, Winter Fusion, in a brand-new anthology from Carina Press.

A Galactic HolidayIt's getting some great reviews:

"If you are a Science Fiction Romance reader A Galactic Holiday is a must read."
"I really enjoyed this collection of novellas and I would recommend it to any fans of romantic sci-fi in the mood for the holidays."

"A Galactic Holiday is a wonderful read for the holiday season. Part romance, part sci-fi, and part just plain fun."


Head over to Anna's blog for your chance to win some intergalactic swag.  I don't know what that is, but it sounds awesome.  

I'd like a lightsaber.  Or maybe Anna's hero in nothing but a wrist-sync and a smile.  



Sunday, November 18, 2012

I do love me some new marvellous Aussie authors...

This recent discovery has made me very happy indeed.

I've enjoyed a number of steampunk romances lately.  I like them (if you've got a good romance, you've got me), but sometimes, the dirigibles and mechanical animals can feel a little heavy-handed.  Maybe its the science teacher in me, but I sometimes find myself drifting from the story to wrap my brain around how something works.  Oh no!


Not so with Bec McMaster's KISS OF STEEL (Sourcebooks).  It was cleverly done, a gorgeous blend of alternate old London, a seamless romance, well-drawn characters and a fabulous blend of steampunk/paranormal world building.

#IHeartBlade.

Sigh.  And how cute is that top hat?

Am eagerly awaiting HEART OF IRON, which is the next book.  Incidentally, #IAlsoHeartWill, maybe more so, so I am dying to read his story.

My word, the Aussies are really stepping up to the romance-writing plate!


Friday, October 5, 2012

More AH cover love!

Since school holidays have rendered me less-than-scintillating, I'm bobbing up to share the news of someone blindingly, marvellously, scintillating.

My ultra-productive critique partner, Anna Hackett, has a new cover.

This one is for Mind Raider, Book Two of the Anomaly trilogy.  Which, not surprisingly, follows on from Time Thief, Book One.  Both are novellas.  Both are completely wicked. 

I know, because I've read them.  ;)

So, above-mentioned cover love, coming out later this month:



While I'm spruiking (love that word!), check the reviews of Time Thief at Goodreads, where it's averaging 4.8 out of five stars at time of typing.  Completely fabulous.  

And I agree.  :)

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Anna Hackett's upcoming release from Carina Press - we have cover liftoff!


The very funky Anna Hackett, one of my ultra-talented CP's and fellow Darksider, has a brand new cover!  I stole this from her blog...





This is a collection of scifi novellas out on December 3rd, just in time to get festive, including Anna's WINTER FUSION, which I LOVED BEYOND MEASURE.  Oh, Savan!

Here's the blurb for WINTER FUSION:

Ex-space marine Savan Bardan survived the Galactic Wars to become the most ruthless trade negotiator in the galaxy. His planet needs energy to survive, and he'll do anything to close the deal for the Perman fusion crystals that can provide it—even if it means seducing his beautiful, infuriating opponent, a rival icier than her planet.

Perma's top nego
tiator, Brinn Fjord, lost her father when Savan delayed her planet's Trade Guild membership years ago. She hates the handsome Rendarian and the planet he represents. She's determined to finish the deal and get rid of him as quickly as possible, so she can celebrate the holidays.

But soon the rival negotiators are in a fight for their lives. Besieged by mysterious accidents and unforgiving weather, Brinn and Savan have no one to depend on but each other. As they put the past aside, they uncover a desire hot enough to melt ice, and Brinn discovers a secret that may keep them apart.




Here's the blurb for the whole bang lot:


Do androids dream of electric sugar plums? 
A detective who refuses to modify her body teams up with her cyborg rival to track down a burglar who is putting toys into homes. A solitary ice miner finds love and friendship while stranded on the surface of Galileo. And two hardheaded negotiators put their differences aside to evade an assassin and save their planets. Enjoy these visions of Christmases yet to come with three science-fiction novellas from Carina Press. 
Edited by Angela James, this anthology includes: 
  • How the Glitch Saved Christmas, by Stacy Gail
  • Galileo's Holiday, by Sasha Summers
  • Winter Fusion, by Anna Hackett



Anna's other recent release, Time Thief, is on sale at the moment.  Check out her blog for info...


Finally, in more Hackett news, Anna is at fellow SARA Eleni's Taverna for Writing Buddy Wednesday.




Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Heads up: Possible meaning of life.

Well, hi there.

Things have been a little hectic around here and and my stressed-out sleepless state I have been questioning a few of the things I ordinarily wouldn't question.   Like, at 5:00 am.  In the morning.  Even before wine and deep and meaningful conversations with other people who drink wine.  

I haven't answered any of these hard-hitting questions yet.    But I have one rule for you that you must adhere to.  And I know, all of my friends would, without hesitation.  






Neigh.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

More cover loving...

You know my CP, Anna, right?  

Well, she has been INSANELY BUSY.  Not only has she just released the very cool TIME THIEF, but she's got a new cover!  

This one is coming out December 3rd, from Carina Press, and will also be a part of their sci-fi anthology, A Galactic Holiday.


Oh, the PRETTY!

E xx

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Possibly one of the coolest words ever...

WIDGET!







Get your widget on at Anna Hackett's Blog!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

She'd been a thief a long time but bank robbery was a new low...

...Anna Hackett's TIME THIEF is OUT NOW!  

So, I have two Critique Partners--you knew that, right?

And you know that I think they're completely awesome, right?  

Did you know that one of them has a COMPLETELY AWESOME NEW BOOK OUT?





TIME THIEF is the first book of Anna Hackett's new Anomaly Trilogy (See how cool that sounds?)

I have always loved Anna's work in an entirely non-biased way, ever since I read SAVAGE DRAGON, her pitch-winning Silhouette Nocturne Bites.

Here's a blurb:

Hunted for her ability to steal time, Bay North lives a life on the run. All she wants is to make the crime lord who slaughtered her family pay. But now he's set the ultimate hunter on her trail and Bay will need all her skills to carry out her revenge and survive.
Ex-Navy SEAL Sean Archer saw his team killed by a time thief in Afghanistan and came back a broken man. He's made a dark deal with a criminal to hunt down all time thieves and now Sean's tracked the wily Bay North to Denver where he plans to rid the world of one more dangerous mutation.
But during a shootout, hunter and hunted find themselves depending on each other for survival. Joining forces to exact payback by stealing a priceless treasure, their reluctant alliance shatters both their defenses. Can Bay find the courage to trust? And can Sean convince a woman honed in revenge that she can have more than vengeance, blood and killing?
Get your copy at Amazon, Smashwords, or All Romance eBooks.  More estores to come.  
Anna will be having a party at her blog soon to celebrate TIME THIEF's release, and I know she's going to be giving some very cool things away, so stay tuned for that.
Anna's been busy tweaking her website in time for her new release, I think it's come up a treat!  While you're perusing, check out her book list.
I'll leave you now to go download a book. :)
E x

Monday, August 6, 2012

I've got a secret...

...and if you have ever met me, you'll know--short of superglue and maybe strategic placement of duct tape--I usually fail miserably at keeping them.

Today is no different.

I'm going to let you in on a secret, which in truth, isn't a secret at all.  Lucky for me, coz I'm about to let you in on it.

My marvellous CP, Anna Hackett, has a new book coming out!


Isn't it pretty?!  I'll keep you updated, but I have seen the shenanigans she has planned for the release and OH MY!  there will be lots of cool stuff going on.  Anna will also keep us updated at her blog:  www.annahackett.blogspot.com.

But at this stage, all that's still secret.

AHEM.  Excuse me while I go find the duct tape.


Stay awesome,
Em.



PS After a long hiatus, Anna is back on twitter @AnnaHackett.  Feel free to enter the twittersphere and heckle her a bit about her new releases this year.  Tell her Em sent you.  She loves the attention.  ;)

She's hanging out at DSDU now too, so head over there and get amongst it.


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Z is for Zuckuss...and farewell to The Alphabet Posts.


Awesome, right?

Artist Brandon Peat and his wife Emma designed these fabulous Star Wars prints for their baby boy, based on the original trilogy and wider universe.  No new dudes.  ADORE!

Check out the full alphabet here.  


As a final HOORAH! to the alphabet, I thought I'd feature some results of alphabet web searches:


This one is by Fabian 'Lishoff' Gonzales:  Yes!  The Simpsons!  I found it at Digital Bus Stop.


Can you name the characters?  Take your time...  The answers are underneath, so once you scroll down, there's no going back.



How many did you get?


A – Abe (Grandpa) Simpson
B- Bart Simpson
C – C. Montgomery Burns
D – Dr. Hibbert
E – Edna Krabappel
F – Fallout Boy (as portrayed by Milhouse)
G – Groundskeeper Willy
H – Homer Simpson
I – Itchy
J – Jimbo (one of the school bullies)
K – Krusty the Clown
L – Lisa Simpson
M – Marge and Maggie Simpson
N – Ned Flanders
O – Otto (the bus driver)
P – Patty Bouvier (one of Marge’s sisters)
Q – (mayor) Quincy
R – Ralph Wiggum
S – Santa’s Little Helper
T – Troy McClure
U – Uter Zorker
V – the Van Houtens
W – Waylon Smithers
X – Xtapolapocetl
Y – Yes Man
Z – Zutroy

Finally, here's a vaguely disturbing alphabet in a book called The Gashlycrumb Tinies (or, After the Outing), by Edward Gorey.  It's an ABC book that tells the story of 26 children (one for each letter of the alphabet) and their untimely demises in didactic rhyming couplets (yes, I did look that up), complete with black and white illustrations.  It's said to be poking fun at parenting paranoias, and having a bit of a go at the general notion of idyllic, sunny childhoods. 
I can sort of see the amusing areas:
"F is for Fanny, sucked dry by a leach."
"Q is for Quentin, who sank in a mire."
"N is for Neville, who died of ennui."

But, by and large, I'm left squirming.  
Of course, given this is the Z post, this must be aired:

Image:  Digital Bus Stop.  See the full set.

Gin; yes please.  Gin + Kiddies; no.  Not suprisingly, Mr Gorey did not create any children of his own before his own demise in 2000 (the cause of which is not mentioned.  Perhaps he fell into a tiger pit?).  Apparently, he didn't like them particularly much. Children, that is. Can't comment on his feelings about tiger pits.  

This is the Zilla I know, my sister's very sweet Great Dane, who isn't partial to gin, thus should live a long and very spoiled life.  She's much happier than she looks, even thought she doesn't drink.  




And on that very marvellous note we bid farewell to the Alphabet Posts.

Happy reading!  

Em.  

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Y is for Yippeedoo.

It's July.  Which means that the RWA's 50Kin20days is over.

I didn't quite make goal (which was 20k), but I got close, and finished the wip, so I didn't suck as much as I suspected I would, which is always a nice suprise.  Yippeedoo!

That said, the wip is one HUUUGE, hot, stinky, convoluted MESS.  There is a long road ahead, re-write-wise.  The whole thing has just made me cranky enough that I want to beat it up a little just to make myself feel better, so that's good.

On the CP front, Anna and Rach have both been busy writing.  In fact, Anna's got some new releases coming up very shortly, which are awesome and exciting.  Stay tuned!

While you're headed over to Anna's website, hit DSDU's Good News as well.  They're busy little bats over there...

It's school holidays here, and we've been away at the beach, doing a great deal of not very much.  I've been reading, fiddling with my plot on the wip, and taking photos.

Here's my favourite.  I have called it, "Give us the fish, and nobody gets hurt.  Capiche?"

Friday, June 22, 2012

X is for Xtremes

Do you know how hard it is to find things that start with 'X' that aren't xylophone and x-ray?  I don't have any strong feelings about either of these concepts, good or bad, but I don't really feel the need to discuss them.

Sorry to all the xylophone enthusiasts out there.  I know there are many.

So, I cheated.  I'd just like to say I know that xtreme does not actually start with an 'X'.  I am aware.  But since it's my blog, I'm all right with suspending rational thought.  Yet again.

Speaking of xtremes (finally), I wanted to direct your attention to the Cover Cafe Annual Cover Contest for 2011.

These are nominated covers which are then voted on, and there are winners in a number of categories.  For example, the winner in the Alternate Reality Section:


So pretty, as so many in this category are.

 And the Contemporary section:
Yes, I like that one.  I have a pulse.


And this gorgeous one from the Historical section:
Isn't it beautiful?


And then there's the Worst Covers section:



What is going on with that dude's head?

Hence, my poorly-spelled XTREME.

This cover was the one which caught my eye the most for all the wrong reasons, but it's not the winner of the worst covers category.  Go have a look.

I actually feel a little bad for some of these authors.  Is that normal?  

While you're there in that final section, check out the comments.

Xtremely hilarious stuff!  





Happy reading,

Emmeline.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

W is for 'What the?'

Our youngest offspring, Anarchy, is four.  He's more like me than I'm strictly comfortable with.  He's not a highly physical child (he holds his hands high when he runs, so he looks like a human washing machine, and none of his limbs seem to be facing the right direction), although he does love kicking balls, reading books and riding his scooter.  He's verbose, and he's a drama llama.

Now, he's only little.  He can't tie his shoelaces, he can't cook, he can't even clean his room without supervision.

So, 'W is for Whale" should be right up his alley:



Right?  No.  Boo-ooring!

Anarchy has an iPad.  Well, it's my old one.

The child uses it far more effectively than I ever will.  Now, I have heard all the arguments against too much gaming, too much TV, not enough running around outside.  For the record, he is a mean machine on the trampoline.

But, I swear, he learned the concept of 'first, second, third" from MarioKart on the Wii.  His reflexes are sharp as little tacks.  He understands some laws of physics, especially if they are accurately depicted in the game.

He could read his name not long after he turned three.  He could spell it shortly after, clicking the little letters in games to put himself in the hall of fame.  In recent months, he's been inclined to pick up a pen and write it.

And write and write and write.  Names, labels, random nouns.

Recently, he was playing a cute little game called Scribblenauts Remix on his device.  It involves you helping a little character by typing in nouns, and that thing will appear for your little man to use.  It's like choose your own adventure with stuff.

Anarchy's little man was in a bind, couldn't move, was stuck between two buildings and to add insult to injury, the boy had conjured up an eel that had eaten all of his goldfish. Time to get out of there.

He asked me, "How do you spell jetpack?"

I looked at him.

"It starts with 'juh', right?"

"Um, yes.  What do you think is next?"

With coaching, he got it all except the kicking K.

You should have seen the fist punching when his little man sailed up and out of there.

He's learned something that I have long suspected to be true:  a jetpack fixes everything.

Until next time,

Em.  x


Saturday, June 9, 2012

V is for I'm Your Venus.

Yes, I am absolutely singing the Bananarama song in my head right now.  Sans the grotty lyrics that Sparky likes to use.


I came across Venus this morning as I was researching for my cupid story.  Even writing 'Cupid'  feels a little uncomfortable.  Fat, chubby babies with wings, flinging arrows at unsuspecting hearts.  Cupid (from the latin 'cupido' meaning desire) is the son of Venus, the goddess of Love and Mars, the god of war.  This is your Roman version of events.  As far as inspiration goes, the baby with the weapon just wasn't working for me.  I've seen enough bad things happen when the offspring aren't even armed to know that can't end well.  


I knew there was a Greek version of cupid - Eros, where erotic comes from.  Of course, I knew that bit.    
The Eros Farnese, a Pompeiian marble thought to be a copy of the colossal Eros of Thespiaeby Praxiteles[1]



TO THE INTERNET! 


Nor surprisingly, Eros was the god of love in Greek Mythology.  He is often depicted as an adult male who embodies sexual power.


Now, we be talking. 


In some versions, he is an original primordial god-dude, with no parents, but others say his parents were Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation and Ares, god of war.  He is nearly always associated with his mother's mischievous fiddling with relationships, hence the boyish way he is sometime portrayed (...and we're back to Cupid.  Quick, run away.).  


Are you seeing a thread here?  A whole lot of love going around.  With adults.  Suddenly, I feel better. 


But did you know that Eros has a whole pile of siblings? 


Anteros was given as a playmate to his brother Eros, who felt a little lonely as a child.  Now this is the interesting part, and I quote: "...the rationale being that love must be answered if it is to prosper."
Anteros by Alfred Gilbert, 1893; from the Shaftesbury Memorial in Piccadilly Circus.  This statue is often confused for Cupid.

This, also from the Anteros listing at Wikipedia.org


Describing the nature of the emotion (eros - EL), Plato asserts that it is the result of the great love for another person. The lover, inspired by beauty, is filled with divine love and "filling the soul of the loved one with love in return." As a result, the loved one falls in love with the lover, though the love is only spoken of as friendship. They experience pain when the two are apart, and relief when they are together, the mirror image of the lover's feelings, is anteros, or "counter-love."


Aww.  




It's generally accepted that Eros and Anteros look similar, although the former usually carries the ubiquitous gold bow and arrow, where Anteros has a bow with lead arrows, or a golden club and girlier hair.  Eros' wings are like a birds, where Anteros' are more butterfly-like in shape.  



So, in the red corner, we have Eros, god of love, mischievous and playful, and heavy on the lust.  Sudden, arrow-in-the-chest, burning desire.  


In the blue corner, we have Anteros, who is the god of love requited love, literally 'love-returned' or 'counter-love'.  He avenges unrequited love and punishes those who scorn love.  Love that might start out smoking, but might start out softly as well, growing and building.  The stuff of romance.  


Suddenly, my story is shaping up.  


I read that the Erotes are the brother's posse.  Gods and demi-gods, they all hang with Aphrodite and create lusty havoc under her command.  The Erotes include other siblings of Anteros and Eros, like Himeros and Pothos.  These last two are less known and it serves my purpose to completely forget about them.  For now.  


So, I got to thinking:  what if Eros and Anteros weren't siblings, but types of Erotes?  What if the eros' and the anteros' were in competition, lust versus love?  Let's face it, sometimes lovers fall into lust and never into love.  That just means they got hit by Eros' golden arrow, and not clubbed in the head by Anteros' golden club.  Next time, they might get lucky.


What if there was a whole pile of erotes, vying for jobs?  


Would they be taught how do hit hearts? Would there be a cupid training program?  What if it was a competition?  Would it be amiable, or do-or-die?


What if some of them were girls?   


Suddenly, I have a background to one of my three characters.  


Oh, the joys of being a writer.  I gets me UP!


Are you checking my 50k30days word-o-meter ---> ?  It's been cranking around.  ;)


Until next time.  I'm off to find my old Bananarama tapes and tie a bandanna around my head.    

Monday, June 4, 2012

U is for Ubiquitous Ugg Boots

Do I look like a crazy person?  No, stop.  Don't answer that.

Apparently, I might be.  

I've signed up to do the Romance Writers of Australia's 50k in 30 Days.

Uh huh.  This is where you live like a hermit for the month of June, sitting at the computer in a pile of balled-up paper, used coffee cups and random handfuls of you own hair that you've pulled out, and write a big pile o' words.  

Bearing in mind that don't live by myself in a self-cleaning cave, waited on by bare-chested male servants, eating chocolate and actually losing weight, I thought perhaps the full fifty might be asking a bit much of my life.

I've pledged to do 20k.  See, not totally sense-impaired.  For the most part.

If I manage it, it will go awfully close to completing a short story I've got about 8k on at the moment.  It means I need to write 600 words a day.  Keep me honest by checking the ticker over there somewhere --->.  Feel free to publicly heckle me if it's not up to date.  

This story is about a Delly, a party girl who just knows that New Year's in Adelaide is going to be a huge bust; Alex, a sculptor with a past who shuns the fast lane, but whose appreciation of five-inch heels is growing by the hour, and Esme, a taxi-driving Cupid, who is handy with an arrow, but seems incapable of making good life decisions.  

Mmm, can you tell I'm still getting a handle on this one?


So, first day, I was running around a lot and kinda forgot it was June.  Wrote nada.

Day two, I wrote just over 1200 words, and caught up.

Day three, I was feeling revolting and was being waited on by Sparky and the Offspring as I lay on the couch.  I read a book on craft, but wrote zip.  (Leigh Michaels, ON WRITING ROMANCE.  It makes sense to me, which is marvellous.  And unusual.)

Today is day four, and I fully intend to catch up again.  Promise.  

I have come home and lit the fire because it's currently 9 degrees here, and that's not warm enough as far as I'm concerned.

In search of further warmth, I have donned the ugg boots.

Now, ugg boots--being a sheepskin boot worn by true Aussies during winter, primarily for warmth--are not something I think about much.

They are warm, cuddly, soft and need throwing in the washing machine every now and then because, let's face it, feet are prone to the pong.  You can get the skin variety, which last longest, or duck into Target every year and buy a new, bright pink pair of synthetic ones.  All shapes, all sizes, kids, ladies, men, dogs.  They're everywhere for everyone. Ubiquitous came to mind.  

Definition of UBIQUITOUS

: existing or being everywhere at the same time : constantly encountered : widespread,  ubiquitous fashion)

Feeling ignorant, I have run to Google. Some interesting facts about ugg boots, from Wiki:

"Ugg boots (sometimes called uggs)[1] are known in Australia and New Zealand as a unisex style of sheepskin boot made of twin-faced sheepskin with fleece on the inside and with a tanned outer surface, often with a synthetic sole. The boots originated in those countries, initially as utilitarian footwear worn for warmth and comfort and later adopted by surfers there during the 1960s. In the 1970s, the boots were introduced to the surf culture of the United Kingdom and the United States by local surfers returning from surfing competitions in Australia. Ugg boots emerged as a fashion trend in the United States in the late 1990s and as a world-wide trend in the late 2000s, yet in Australia they are worn predominantly as slippers and associated with "daggy" fashion sense, and bogan culture."

Love bogan culture.  But, digressing.

"Generally worn for warmth and comfort, ugg boots had never been considered fashionable in their country of origin (Emmeline:  LOL!)but in 2001 sheepskin boots emerged as a fashion trend in the US through Deckers' promotions of the UGG brand, with celebrities such as Kate HudsonSarah Jessica ParkerCameron DiazLeonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lopez wearing the boots, and with Oprah Winfrey featuring UGG brand boots as one of her "Favorite Things" on her TV talk show.
...By way of contrast, ugg boots in Australia were worn predominantly as slippers and associated with "daggy fashion sense, bogan behaviour" and the "outer suburbs" when worn in public." 

However, it is not all rainbows, roses and happy bogan culture for iconic national footwear:

"In 2007, Pamela Anderson, realising that ugg boots were made of skin, wrote on her website: "I thought they were shaved kindly? People like to tell me all the time that I started that trend – yikes! Well let's start a new one – do NOT buy Uggs!" 

Yikes!  Regardless of your political inclinations, uggs are UBIQUITOUS.  

And please remember to shave kindly!

Monday, May 28, 2012

T is for titillating.

No, not me.  Well, not right at the moment.  I'm wearing trackies and sitting in the freezing cold at my computer.  I'm more arctic than titillating just now.

I refer to Lillian Grant's Male Review which is out TODAY.  Buckle yourselves in, we're in for a sexy ride.  If you're not eighteen, close the browser and come back next week when we get all over U.  Thank y'all.

Here's a teaser from Male Review:


A nymphomaniac octogenarian great aunt, a frigid mother, and a BDSM male strip club, what could possibly go wrong?


The cover:




Isn't it evocative?  And yes, that hand belongs to THE MAN WITH THE BIG...HAT.

Click through and you will understand my excitement.  And possible titillation.  (I can't leave the cover for Male Order here on my blog.  Last time I drooled, and shorted out my keyboard.  It's getting expensive.  So perhaps, cover your keyboard with something waterproof and THEN click through.)

But first, before we dive into the awesomeness that is the sequel to Male Order, next in the REIGNING MEN series, we should really talk about what 'titillate' actually means.

I would be the first to admit that the 'tit' in 'titillating' has made me snigger like a ten-year-old since, well, I was ten years old.  While there is actually more to it than that, there may well still be snorting.

This, from Merriam Webster dotcom:

tit·il·late

 verb \ˈti-tə-ˌlāt\
tit·il·lat·edtit·il·lat·ing

Definition of TITILLATE

transitive verb
1
: to excite pleasurably : arouse by stimulation
2
: tickle 2
intransitive verb
: to act as a stimulant to pleasurable excitement
— tit·il·la·tion noun
— tit·il·la·tive adjective
  1. a film made to titillate the audience
  2. writing that titillates and provokes

Origin of TITILLATE

Latin titillatus, past participle of titillare
First Known Use: 1620

Related to TITILLATE



Talk about appropriate!

Lillian Grant is a fellow SARA (South Australian Romance Author), and also one of the few members who could seriously take me on for the title of class clown.  ;) She is fabulous fun, and so are her books. 

And her newest book is out today.  Now, just quietly, it's not for the faint of heart.  Perhaps if you've just eaten, or haven't eaten and your blood sugar is a little low, or maybe recently had major surgery, you might like to wait until you're feeling more robust.  Wouldn't want anything to pop/expire/fall out from over-exertion.  Or even over-titillation.

But, if you're up for a smoking hot, sexy read, get thee over to your favourite ebook store and download MALE REVIEW now!  It's available from today US time.  

Check out Lillian's blog for a giveaway, as well. That's sure to get your heart thumping!

Here's the blurb from Lillian's blog:

Sam Stephens and Meg Riley are in love, and finally on the cusp of sex anytime, anywhere, anyhow. That is until Meg’s Great Aunt Maud, the octogenarian nymphomaniac, gets tossed out of the old folk’s home and moves in with them, closely followed by her polar opposite, Meg’s scarily frigid mother.
When Meg’s best friend Laura convinces Aunt Maud to invest in Male Review, a BDSM themed male strip joint, it seems to be just one more step along the path to madness. Laura’s last venture ended with Meg being arrested as a pimp. When former prostitute Michael is hired as the bar manager the whole thing is surely destined for disaster. He’s to blame for the crazies invading Meg’s home and even worse, he still has the hots for her.
If she wants to get her life back all Meg needs to do is find a new home for Maud, resolve the dispute between her warring parents, keep Michael at arm’s length and rescue her relationship with Sam before it disintegrates completely. Male Review appears to be just one more problem to deal with, but perhaps it could provide an unexpected solution.

Sounds great.  Congrats, Lillian!  


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