Brit Party, David Cook - American Idol, Florida Fires

Woohoo! Brit Party is #4 on the top 10 list at Total-e-Bound. I read the book last night and I have to congratulate my fellow authors. You rock! I loved the stories and I'm honored to be part of this anthology.

You know me. I had to watch American Idol and it just ended. I won't lie. I voted for David Cook - more than once. He is soooo good. And he's soooo cute. He's like a mix of Constantine and Chris Daughtry. I couldn't ask for better. My fingers and toes are crossed. Of course, he's a winner whether he gets the crown or not. I predict huge things for him. He's awesome.



By the way, the fires in my part of Florida are out - for the moment and we're safe. It's so dry and so hot down here, though... It was 97 degrees Saturday and I got really sun burned. I hear the fires are still raging in Central Florida - where I was last weekend. (Hubby still has NOT sent me the pics - I'm getting really really pissed now and am about to raid his computer and send them to myself. If only I remembered his password...)

Here's more about our new book.



by Ashley Ladd | Lisabet Sarai | Brynn Paulin | Lacey Thorn | Dakota Rebel | Desiree Holt |

'Maggie's Menage' by Lacey Thorn

Maggie had spent a lifetime trying to win the love and affection of her father, but nothing seemed to work. Now he was asking her to seduce and marry one of two men that he had selected for her...for the good of the family name and company. But Maggie has other plans. Plans that will leave both men thinking of her as something other than a wife, and leave her father's plans for marriage in ashes.

Alex and Patrick were there to investigate Dom Houston and through the carelessness of his assistant managed to get in to see the man himself. But it was the blonde haired beauty that commanded their attention from the get go. And when she arrived at their hotel room later in the day, neither was willing to walk away. If Maggie wanted a ménage then they were more than willing to give it to her.

But for two of them it would be more than they could have ever imagined.

'Boy Toys' by Brynn Paulin

Dana's job title is scientist not babysitter. She's irritated when her boss slates her to accompany department bad boys, Christopher and Jason, to a meeting in London on her weekend off. Since her job transfer to England, she's hidden her attraction to the much younger men. Unfortunately, the attraction seems to be growing every day and every night she fantasises about them. Three days virtually alone with them will be no fantasy and might instead be an embarrassing disaster. But...

Jason and Christopher have had their eyes on Dana since she joined their department. Through a little finagling they've arranged for her to be part of this trip. They're sure her project is a spot on compliment to theirs and her presence will be an ideal addition to their bed. Now all they have to do is convince her that the bad boys will make her perfect boy toys. Forever.

'Best Mates' by Ashley Ladd

Lovers Alec Russert and Kevin Cosby feel horrible for their best mate, Jennica Chapman, when her current beau dumps her. And yet, they're glad he's out of her life.

Unfortunately, thirty-six year old Jennica thought this was her last chance to have a baby, and she's much more upset about this than losing the boyfriend. As Alec is feeling his biological clock also, he suggests to Kevin that they help her out of her predicament.

But, they're the ones in for a shock when Jennica tells them they may be too tame for her sexual likes. It turns out that Jennica is a submissive and she loves to be bound and spanked by her master. The shock wears off quickly when Alec and Kevin decide that Jennica will like two Dom masters much better than one.

Soon they realise their best mate really is their best mate, and that she's always owned their hearts.

'The Wager' by Dakota Rebel

Menage-a-Trios with a twist, and a vampire bite.

A weekly game of Billiards between a couple becomes interesting when the stakes get raised to include a pair of friends in the payoff.

Sadie and Will are vampires who have a wager based on a weekly billiards game they play. Their stakes are always sexual and this week will be no different. But for this week's wager they decide to include a couple of their friends, Dave and Tony, in the payoff. If Will wins, he gets to watch Sadie have sex with their friends while he watches and gives instructions as to what he wants to see. But if Sadie wins, she wants to instruct their friends on what to do to Will.

The the game begin!

'Four Play' by Desiree Holt

How many is too many, or is it not enough?

She loved the ménage that her lover Michael Collins had introduced her to, but now here they were, spending a week at Duncan MacLaughlin's cottage in Scotland and Holly Martin wasn't sure she was ready for the surprise he promised her.

No details, just a wide grin. The surprise turned out to be Jim Grainger, a friend of Michael and Duncan's, who was as much into a foursome as the other men. With all that testosterone flowing around her, and three very gorgeous and sexy men to play games with, Holly suddenly realises she loves a sexy numbers game.

'Monsoon Fever' by Lisabet Sarai

Divine temptation lies in wait in an ancient and mysterious land.

In their first years together, Priscilla and Jonathan enjoyed a marriage based as much on physical passion as on love. However, the travails of business and the tribulations of the Great War have taken their toll. When Jon's father dies in faraway India, the couple travels to the father's isolated Assamese tea plantation to settle his affairs. Far from the bustle and distraction of London, left alone to endure the monsoon rains while Jon struggles to complete the final harvest, Priscilla realises how much she misses Jon's touch.

Anil Kumar arrives with business documents for Jon to examine. The charismatic native enchants both Priscilla and Jon with his god-like beauty and charm. In separate incidents, each of them succumbs to Anil's lustful attentions. Will the illicit desires excited by the handsome Indian be the final stroke that destroys their marriage? Or the route to saving it?

Here's an excerpt from my story "Best Mates":

'Best Mates' by Ashley Ladd

Jennica Chapman felt so low she didn’t think she could sink any further. Hurt and angry, she ripped up all the pictures she had of her ex, Thad, threw them in the sink and lit a match to them. As she watched the flames devour Thad’s handsome but sleazy face, she gritted out between her teeth, “Up in flames with you. Kev and Alec had you pegged. Why didn’t I listen?”

Afraid the smoke was getting too thick and would set off the fire alarm, she turned on the tap and doused the flames. Catching her blurry reflection in the tap’s chrome, she stared at her distorted reflection. “Because you’re a blithering idiot. Because you wanted a baby so badly, you would’ve settled for the wanker.”

Mad at herself for letting the last two years tick away as her eggs grew stale, she scoured the sink and threw Thad’s ashes into the rubbish.

Unfortunately that didn’t make her feel much better. Neither did cranking up her music, soaking in the tub, or digging into a quart of Ben and Jerry’s.

Her door shook with a sudden pounding and she rolled her eyes. Not in the mood to fend off a door-to-door salesman, and in particular hoping never to lay eyes on Thad again, she ignored it.

The hammering increased and Alec called out, “I’m not going away. I know you’re in there, Chapman.”

A rush of affection for her best chum washed out some of her raging anger. She raced for the door and flung it wide. Ecstatic to see friendly faces, she threw herself first into Alec’s arms and then Kevin’s.

She didn’t know which was more handsome. They were both heartthrobs. Alec was the ultimate bad boy rocker with unruly hair that grazed his shoulders and a perpetual roguish smile that would melt her heart if he were straight—sometimes it did anyway. Bohemian, he always wore ragged jeans, a shirt that lay half-unbuttoned exposing a matt of very sexy chest hair, and gold earrings. Also like usual, he wore a sexy five o’clock shadow on his lean cheeks. She thought it the sexiest thing on earth. Well, maybe the second sexiest… She had a hard time suppressing a naughty grin and keeping her gaze from drifting south to the sexiest thing between his legs.

Kevin on the other hand was the clean-cut, London book editor who always wore preppy clothes. His blond good looks and clear blue eyes had broken more than a few hearts, male and female. He kept his hair tapered short and well-groomed. Often she wondered how the two had hooked up, but she’d shrugged it off as opposites attracting.

Well, I'm off to prepare for work tomorrow and get some writing done. I wanted to finish a book I started a few years ago. I love the idea. But rereading it I HATE what I wrote.

Oy!

So instead of trying to fix it, I'm just going to start from scratch. If you're a writer, have you ever done that?

There's an even older book I want to fix, but I've changed it so many times, it's all out of order and it's a pain. But on the whole, it's pretty good so I'm not going to scrap it and start from scratch. But it'll take longer to fix than I'd hoped. I'm not exactly the patient sort but I'm trying to reign myself in and take the time it requires to do it right.