Showing posts with label winner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winner. Show all posts

Sunday, December 05, 2010

I'm Going To A Wedding (and) Abracadabra Winner Announced

I'm going to a wedding today.

But first things first ~ I'm late announcing the winner of Abracadabra. Of course you want to know who it is and if it's you. Waiting sucks.

So, without further ado, please congratulate Linda C lincat56.... I will email Linda's prize to her today.

(Now, back to the regularly scheduled post.)


A wedding is one of the ultimate expressions of love and commitment.

Anyone can have sex. Lots of people live together without the bonds of matrimony. Only people who want to vow their love in front of God and witnesses, marry. (In my culture.)

Witnessing a wedding is also special. To be invited to share in the sacred nuptials is a blessing.

Even though I won't be the one making vows or starting on a new journey today, I'll still be immersed in the love and romance. I'm excited to see how beautiful the bride will be in her wedding gown, how handsome and debonair the groom looks, and most of all, to see the love glowing on their faces for one another as they become man and wife. As in one of my favorite movies, "27 Dresses", I'll be watching the groom hoping he won't bolt and run away or collapse from fear. Then I'll melt when they share their first kiss as man and wife. Before and after the vows, I'll take in the beautiful surroundings and the festively attired guests.

This is the second wedding I've attended this month. Both are couples older than me, and both have been married before. All are grandparents. What a testament to love that people of all ages, all circumstances, enjoy it.

I need to prepare so I can make it to the church on time. I don't want to miss this very special event.

I'll post pictures on my blog this week so stay tuned.

http://www.ashleyladd.blogspot.com/

Ashley

P.S. If you want a romance fix, don't miss my recent release, Abracadabra.

This hero and heroine were forcibly separated and now fear their love has suffered, that they may not be the same people they were when they fell in love.



Here's an excerpt:

Savannah ‘Savi’ Davis warmed up for her Tae Kwan Do session by doing forty jumping jacks, followed by forty push-ups, then forty squats and finally forty leg lifts. Then came the leg stretches. How she used to hate the way they seemed to tear her muscles, how they made her cringe in pain, but now that she was getting limber, she loved to stretch her legs far and wide, almost straight out like a karate master. Dreams of achieving her black belt aside, this exercise not only helped her to kick higher and harder, it helped her to stretch in incredibly hot sexual positions.

The stretching like this reminded Savi of the steamy sex she’d indulged in with her lover Mark right here in this studio. Mark who made her panties wet. Mark who made her tremble with wanton desire. Mark who made her erupt with the most dynamite orgasms of her twenty-nine years. Mark who was now incarcerated.

Although Mark wasn’t here, memories of him still made her wet. At least her panties would be wet…if she wore any. At times like this when she missed her lover with every molecule of her being, she didn’t choose to wear panties, just her white cotton slacks. If some hottie saw the shadow of her bush, the slit of her pussy, it only made her sizzle hotter. Sometimes just their hot, lustful looks made her come without Mark’s huge cock rocking in and out of her or even the aid of her own fingers.

The slightly scratchy material, in particular the inseam, rubbed against her clit and she threw back her head and moaned in delight. Her long hair caught back in a high ponytail tickled her back, especially the bare midriff where her T-shirt hiked up.

Mr. Lee, her Tae Kwon Do instructor, tossed her a warning frown and she caught several classmates sneaking furtive glances at her in the floor-to-ceiling mirror that displayed the entire studio. She didn’t care if the women’s glances held censure for the men’s held anything but. They reminded her of Mark’s sweltering stares, his burning eyes and his hot and ready response. God, she missed her Mark.

She loved the Tae Kwon Do studio, in particular because she’d met Mark here when she started her karate training. He’d been her first partner and as a second-degree black-belt, he’d given her private tutelage, sometimes even after hours at the studio as he assisted the master. This place was a storehouse of awesome memories.

A soft, dreamy smile curved her lips. Lost in her own world, she continued her stretching exercises as if on auto pilot.

“The other right, Miss Davis,” Mr. Lee called out just like Mark used to, when she rolled into her neighbour’s space.

Mark… Everything reminded her of her Mark.

She shot an apologetic smile to the green-belt scowling at her, then moved back into her own space. Still, she had trouble getting her mind off Mark.

Closing her eyes, she pretended Mark was beside her. The scent of musky sweat permeating the studio and infusing her uniform, and the steady, sexy beat of the workout music, all worked together to enhance her mesmerising fantasy.

She forgot where she was as she slipped into another world, to one where she and Mark, who had been her first Tae Kwon Do master, had the studio all to themselves, where they gyrated in time to the beat of the sensual music belting through the studio. She recalled how they performed their own quasi-Tae Kwon Do routine, part karate, part animalistic dance.

Abracadabra is available at Total-E-Bound.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Rejections, rewriting, edits, and my monthly book contest

It happened again. I received a rejection on one of my books.

As it went, it was probably the nicest rejection I ever received, but it was still a rejection. Or maybe it was more of a revise and send back letter. At least that's what I'm going to do: revise the book and send it back. I've already begun the revision. Maybe I'll even complete it today.

Although not an ego booster, it's all part of this business. What writer hasn't received a rejection or two? It keeps us humble. It keeps us on our toes to produce our best work.

But this isn't only about me and my feelings. This ensures that you, my readers, will get the very best books possible. You don't want to read drivel or mediocre stuff. You want great romances and adventures you can't put down until you've read "And they lived Happily Ever After" and you go away with a big smile and a big sigh of contentment. You want unforgettable characters. You want a story that will transcend the ages.

At least that's what I want as a reader. That's what I try to give my readers in each of my books.

As you may have noted, my poll ended yesterday. Historical and paranormal tied with 8 votes each to win. Vampire novels and comedy romance tied for second place with 6 votes each. I'd hoped to have more votes to get a better picture of what my readers like.

I'd love to hear from all of you what types of books you enjoy reading and what elements you want to see in stories. Kelly Kirch has been conducting reader interviews which gives us authors a lot of insight into what you want. Way to go Kelly!

Meanwhile, I will work hard to revise and edit my just-rejected story to make it be all it can be and more. Editing was never my bag. Just ask my critique partners. But it's a necessary evil.

No, it's not an evil. It's a golden opportunity to polish the story until it gleams. That's what I'll be doing most of today. Polishing the story, making a happily ever after that will make your heart melt and your knees go weak and make you believe in soul mates.

It's also that time of the month when I need to award one of my books to a lucky poster from the month of March 2008. And I've made a nifty award banner to go with it. This is also available to my past winners, so please save it to your computer, paste it in, and if you would be so kind, link to my blog. I'd really appreciate it.

Drum roll please...

And this month's winner for a free download of one of my books is:

Worn Out Woman at: http://wornoutwoman.blogspot.com/

Here's my new award banner. What do you think?








DJ Kirby and Crazy Cath please email me so I can send you your copy as my winners from the last two months.


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