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Saturday Status 5/12/12

Filed Under: Author Updates by Olivia Brynn — Leave a comment
May 12, 2012

Howdy! A special happy Mother’s Day Weekend to all you mothers out there. And for all you Mutha’s too! You know who you are. Is this picture not the greatest? Can’t help smiling back.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ You’ve never seen five superstar rock musicians look this uncomfortable in your whole entire life:

I love this song, but have never laughed through a video that much. Thanks, Beach Boys!

Work in Progress News ~ Well, I’ve tried a few different beginnings to the pilot story Olivia’s been working on. Unfortunately, I’m still not in love with it. I’m going to set it aside and work on something else. Instead I made a trailer for a friend of mine Gem Sivad (be watching for it!) and read a few books as a contest judge. And a few books that aren’t part of the judging, because I tried to make my WiP jealous. It didn’t work.

Backlist News ~ Speaking of awards, At Ease was nominated for a Swirl Award! It’s the first annual award for interracial romances. At Ease is in the Novella category, and it’s up against some really great books by some really great authors. Just being nominated is an honor, and I’m not just saying that.

Industry News ~ Not sure if this is news or just a rumor, but Amazon is rumored to launch a color e-book reader in the second half of this year. Just when you thought you had the latest and greatest, right? [source]

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Lots of terms made me giggle, but a good chunk weren’t repeatable! Whew, folks. This one found me, but I’m not exactly sure how: “harlequin romance nurse nolan no. 580″

What I’m reading ~ Ava March writes delicious historical m/m. So when the buy link appeared on my laptop screen (I swear I don’t know how it happened) to the third in the Brook Street trilogy I just had to have it. I didn’t read books one and two yet, but they weren’t necessary for me to enjoy this one.

Hero Quote ~ from Dean’s story, Earth Scents Book Two (untitled). This is actually a quote from Dean’s father, as he makes fun of Dean’s choices in men:

“You say you like men, son, but you keep dating immature women.”

Okay, everyone. Get outside and enjoy spring while you can! And again, happy Mother’s Day!

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Welcome, Kerrianne Coombes

Filed Under: Guest Blogger by Olivia Brynn — 3 Comments
May 7, 2012

Kerrianne Coombes has a new book coming out! It’s called Beauty and the Beast, and she’s graciously  giving a copy away to one commenter here.  Welcome, Kerrianne! Why do you like paranormal?

I think the reason I love a good paranormal romance is because it taps into my imagination perfectly. Paranormal romance, for me, is all about dark, tortured souls, with bucket loads of passion. And don’t we all love a tortured soul—especially when he/she finds their other half?

Paranormal Romance is usually full of strong, dominant males that ignite our fires and make us swoon. Don’t get me wrong, in real life if a vampire came along and tried to tap my neck, I would probably run screaming—not even noticing if the vamp is a sex god or not. But, in my imagination, the idea is sexy and completely acceptable.

That is what I love most about a good Paranormal book. For that moment, when I am reading the story—it all seems real, and completely …right.

In that moment, all men are built like Greek gods with perfect hair and super human strength. And the women are self assures and treated like princesses by their man.

Paranormal romance, for me, is escapism at its best. A door into a world where men are gods and orgasms are compulsory—and excitement is a must!

When Princess Callindra of Tempath, wakes up hog-tied and bruised in the bowels of hell, she realizes that her plan to escape her up-coming marriage has gone horribly wrong. Her only hope of escape comes in the form of Brigg, cursed Rain Demon and bitter, human hating bastard. But beggars can’t be choosers.

When Brigg finds himself in possession of a human and a horde of angry demons desperate to get her back, he flees. When he realizes that she is the daughter of the witch that cursed him and his family, he believes that he has finally got the opportunity he has been hoping for. The only thing he must decide now is what is more important to him, the reversal of the curse, or revenge?

Neither one are prepared for the flame that ignites between them. But will the spark be enough to break to the curse that holds them apart?

Excerpt

Brigg walked back to the castle and opened the heavy wooden door. He was utterly shattered. His muscles burned from running but his mind was still filled with Cally. No matter how hard or fast he had run, he couldn’t clear her from his thoughts. He had waited until he was sure she was asleep before he came back.

What was he going to do tomorrow? Lust was so heavy in his body, it burned and urged him—even when she was nowhere near.

The moment his feet set down in the hallway, Briggs attention was drawn to the library. A dull, but cozy light shone out from the gap around the door and Cally’s scent hit him hard. She was still up? Cant a demon catch a break?  His feet took him to the library door with no conscious thought other than…

Mine.

His heart-rate picked up and throbbed in his ears. He grabbed the door handle and yanked the heavy dark oak back. Cally sat in the middle of the room on a large leather chair, on her lap sat a big, leather-bound book. Clearly startled by his entrance, she jumped a little.

“Brigg!” Her eyes wide, she watched him as he stood in the doorway. He was unable to move, struck dumb by the image she made sitting the chair, holding the big book—looking all sleepy and sweet. “Are you ok?” She frowned and then set the book aside. She dropped her elegant legs to the floor and stood up. She was wearing his shirt, the one that he had loaned to her, but she no longer had the baggy trousers on—and Brigg couldn’t look away from the creamy flesh  on display.

She had beautiful, shapely, feminine legs, and as she moved closer, he could see that her skin was smooth. Fuck! He wanted to taste her. His head pounded and his chest drew tight. She was a vision, an image plucked right from his dreams. Many a time—before the curse—he had dreamed of such a beauty being his. She would look at him with a soft expression, just as Cally did right now. And he would take her in all the ways he craved. But he was no longer that young Rain Demon, the young demon with smooth skin and a face as human as hers. He was a beast, an ugly monster who didn’t deserve the look of interest Cally was flashing right now. He let out a low growl. Cally stopped moving, her eyes flaring wide.

That’s it, human, be scared of the Beast.

“What are you doing awake?” The growl still sat in his voice when he spoke, and he wasn’t surprised to see Cally swallow visibly.

“I-I couldn’t sleep.” She took another slow step in Briggs direction, all the while she watched him as if he might run, or attack. Brigg stayed perfectly still, aware that the moment he allowed his body to move, it would go in her direction. Everything inside him homed in on the Princess. The Beast, the Rain Demon—it all focused on Cally and her bare flesh and bright eyes. The closer she got, the harder his beast was to control.

“Stop, Human.”

I love it! Thanks, Kerrianne. Don’t forget to leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of Beauty and the Beast.

You can find Kerrianne at her website, and follow her on Twitter like I do.  

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Saturday Status 5/5/12

Filed Under: Author Updates by Olivia Brynn — Leave a comment
May 5, 2012

It’s Cinco de Mayo! To me, that means Mexican food for lunch!  Please celebrate responsibly today. Make sure whatever you beat with a stick really is a pinata.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ A few weeks ago, I shared a song (that I still love, even though many are overplaying it) by Gotye, “Somebody that I Used to Know”. Here’s Bad Lipreading with their take on Gotye’s video. Be sure to hit the captions button for the full effect.

Work in Progress News ~ Working on my pilot story. I had a few thousand words in, then decided it needed to start at a different point in the story, so I started over. This is where plotting might help. Still, now that I figured out the problem, I should be able to go full steam ahead!

Industry News ~ It looks like Target is going to stop carrying Kindles in their stores, citing “conflict of interest”. This means that likely many shoppers visit Target to see and touch a device, then purchase from Amazon anyway. Also, Microsoft and Barnes and Noble are teaming up. Imagine Windows on a Nook, folks. That could change the tablet wars as we know it, and consumers win!

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Nothing too entertaining, but this one made me smile: “beautiful saturday status”. I’ll take that as a compliment!

What I’m reading ~ The Psychic and the Sleuth by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon. I’m not sure what it is about historical m/m stories that just make me autobuy. This one is wonderful, with a great plot. Robert Court is an inspector, trying to debunk Oliver Marsh’s claims of psychic ability. He doesn’t expect Oliver to suddenly spout clues to a murder close to Robert’s heart.

Hero Quote ~ So, sorry about last week’s quote. That entire scene was cut, so it’s no longer there. I don’t have anything new for him yet either, at least nothing quote-worthy. So here’s a quote from Mario, from Flipped:

“Tiny Tim? A complex? The only complex that boy will ever suffer from is the Napoleon kind. From his overblown cockiness, I could tell he had more dick in his personality than he could ever have in his pants.”

I guess that’s it for me. Have a great week, everyone!

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Saturday Status 4/28/2012

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April 28, 2012

I gotta say, April 2012 was a great month for me. I’m sorry to see it go. May? Bring it on.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ I bet you never thought you’d see a Justin Bieber song on my FSotW. Well maybe you did, because my tastes are pretty eclectic. But I found myself dancing to this, and only later found out it was by the boy wonder. This certainly doesn’t sound like his other stuff. I guess there’s no official video yet. Whaddya think?

Work in Progress News ~ I’ve been slowly working on my pilot story. I usually name my WiPs my hero’s name until I can come up with a good one, but I haven’t even named my hero yet! I like to wait until his personality shows through. Know any good pilot names?

Backlist News ~ After the release of Flipped last Saturday, I’ve been hopping from blog to blog promoting. I also got some really good reviews from Brief Encounters (B-) Hearts on Fire Reviews (4 Hearts) MM Good Reviews (5 Hearts) and QMO Books (No rating given) Not bad, eh?

Industry News ~ The Sci-Fi publisher Tor (Also Forge, Orb, Starscape, and Tor Teen) announced this week that “by early July 2012, their entire list of e-books will be available DRM-free.” That’s great news! I honestly don’t think DRM does anything but punish honest readers, so I’d like to see DRM go the way of the 8-Track.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ I hope I was on page fifty or so on this one, because I don’t see myself in this at all. “what is a romance novel that the character is a matador” What do you guys think?

What I’m reading ~ I’ve read two great books this week. I’ll tell you about one of them, and save the other for a week where I don’t read anything new. I read With the Band by L.A. Witt. I actually purchased this during the RT Conference earlier this month. I sat next to the author as we imbibed in some blackberry brandy. She started telling me about this book, and I whipped out my Kindle and bought it on the spot. That’s called “Bar Marketing.” Look it up. I just invented it. With the Band is about the lead singer and bass player in a rock band. Lots of tension in this one, including the fact that both heroes are still in the closet.

Hero Quote ~ One of my unnamed pilot hero’s early lines:

“We’ll be in the air soon, and you can catch another power nap.” He grinned, showing off a set of straight white teeth. “That’s when I catch mine.”

He’s joking! Of course he’s joking. I hope you all have a great weekend!

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Saturday Status 4/21/12

Filed Under: Author Updates by Olivia Brynn — Leave a comment
April 20, 2012

Welcome!! Busy weekend for me. Right now I’m neck-deep in the JustRomance.Me blog hop! Just scroll down for my post, and click the link to join in the fun. We’re giving away a Nook Simple Touch Glow ereader! Also today is Release Day for my book Flipped! *throws confetti*

Favorite Song of the Week ~ Mario, one of the main characters in Flipped loves Whitesnake. I thought I’d give him a treat by posting this song:

Nothing says “80′s Hair Band” like a woman in a dress doing front walkovers on classic muscle cars, right?

Work in Progress News ~ I haven’t written in any of my wips, I’ve been busily preparing for my Book Release Blog Tour, which begins today at Kerrianne Coombes’ blog. Come and visit me, where I’ll be drawing a winner from the comments to receive one of the first digital copies of Flipped! The rest of my blog tour stops are posted HERE or right here on my sidebar–>

Backlist News ~ Well Last Call has slipped to the lower rungs of the top 100 list at Barnes & Noble. It was a fun ride while it lasted, and Last Call peaked at #2 on their list! Now with all my new readers, I’m getting some wonderful reviews. Otherwise not much going on in my backlist this week.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Nothing but the usual this week. People looking for my books for free, and people looking for satin backgrounds. Come on, folks! Let’s get creative, here!

What I’m reading ~ This isn’t the first book in the series, but I’ve been wanting to read it for a while. This one is on my Kindle, though, and I was too lazy to put book one on there, so I started reading this, and each chapter in, I thought, “This is the last chapter before I read book one.”  Well yeah. KZ Snow has such an engaging voice. I just picture her smiling as she writes each word.

Hero Quote ~ From Flipped, my friends-to-lovers book. Meet Carter:

“Your personality quirks were too much to handle years ago, and I still like you.”

That’s it for me today. Don’t forget to join me on the JustRomance.Me blog hop, and at on my Flipped Release Blog Tour this week!

 

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Love a Tree, Read an Ebook

Filed Under: Blog Hop by Olivia Brynn — 34 Comments
April 19, 2012

Welcome! I’m glad you’re spending some of your Earth Day with us at JustRomance.Me. If you aren’t on the blog hop bus, just click HERE to get aboard! To celebrate our Earth, I’ll be donating  to Friends of the Earth, I’ll add your name to the donation if you comment below that you’d like to be included!

This weekend I’m celebrating not only Earth Day, but the release of my book FLIPPED. The heroes in this male/male romance are in the process of flipping a house for a profit. That’s like recycling, right? I figured they probably also take advantage of the nice spring weather to hang their laundry out to dry rather than put them in a machine. After my daydream about men doing laundry, I wrote this scene:

“We’re going to have the neighborhood council knocking on our door tomorrow.” Carter rolled his eyes as Mario pinned his Superman boxers on the line next to Carter’s blue jeans.

“What, because we wear underwear?”

Carter reached into the laundry basket full of their damp clothing, and pulled out Mario’s G-string. “This hardly qualifies as underwear.”

Mario snatched the garment out of Carter’s hand. “I only wear that with my leather pants, and you know it.” He raised a dark eyebrow. “You’ve never complained before.”

Carter wrapped his hand around Mario’s, crumpling the fabric between them. “I’m not complaining now.” He tugged the man closer, until their chests met. “I just want to be the only guy who gets to see them.”

Mario tossed the G-string back into the basket and slipped his fingers beneath the waistband of Carter’s shorts, securing their hips together. “I had no idea you were such a jealous guy. I guess my little dirty dance with Lewis last night really got your gears grinding then?”

Carter closed his eyes at the memory of Mario rubbing up on the big older guy while lights flashed and music blared. Now—as then—Carter’s smile even felt naughty. “I know you too well. During the entire extended play remix, your eyes never got that glassy desire-drugged look that they do when you’re really turned on.”

“Ah, you’re wrong there.” Mario nipped at Carter’s earlobe. His warm breath sent chills down Carter’s bare back and arms. “I remember getting very turned on.”

“Yeah. When you saw me watching you.”

“Yes. You sat there with that cat-who-got-the-canary grin, drinking that disgusting ale—”

“You love that ale.”

“I love the way it tastes on you, but I’d never drink it straight.” Mario flicked the button on Carter’s shorts free, and started working on the zipper. “I wanted to crawl onto your lap right there.”

“Is that why we ended up in the back seat of your car in the bar parking lot?”

“It’s also why the neighborhood council will be knocking on our door.”

Carter licked Mario’s lips. “Maybe we should finish hanging the laundry.”

Mario took a step toward the house, bringing Carter with him. “And maybe the laundry can wait.”

For more about Flipped, click on the cover above, it will open a new page (in a new window so as not to disrupt your hopping experience) with the blurb, first chapter, and buy links. Enjoy your Earth Day, and be sure to enter in the drawing, where you could win a Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight. This is the newest Nook out there, and check out that glowing screen! You can read in bed! Good luck!!

I hope you’ll join us in the after hop chat party 4/22 at 7pm!

 

  

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Saturday Status

Filed Under: Author Updates by Olivia Brynn — Leave a comment
April 7, 2012

Welcome! Happy Easter Weekend! I hope you’re having a great time gorging on jelly beans and creme eggs. I don’t know about you, but I think Easter has the best candy of all the holidays. Each year I stock up on these guys–>

If you’ve never tried them, you haven’t lived. Also, if you’ve never tried them, don’t start. I can’t take the competition in the stores anymore. Already they sell out within hours of being stocked onto the shelves. (Mouth is watering right now!) But enough of that. Here’s what I’ve done all week:

Favorite Song of the Week ~ Okay, this is funny right here:

I know it’s not very Easterish, but it has a bunny!! Good luck getting rid of that earworm, by the way…

Work in Progress News ~ Well again, I didn’t get many words in on Dean’s story, but I’ve been getting ready for the Romance Times Booklover’s Convention, which starts on Wednesday! I’ll be flying out of the windier city to the Windy City on Tuesday. I simply cannot wait.  I made some nifty magnets with my logo on them. I’m pretty proud of me, and my crafty self! I can’t take credit for the idea tho, I got a magnet just like this from a Scentsy lady.  Then I put my free reads on a CD (and added a bonus novel on random discs) and burned my logo on the front. Pretty cool looking, yeah? Thanks to booknibbles.com for the way awesome and useful logo

Industry News ~ Back in 2010, Google put its feelers out into the indy book market, selling ebooks via a beta program. Unfortunately, Google is pulling the plug on that program as it introduced the new Google Play format. I guess the revenue just wasn’t there.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ This one has popped up in various forms over the weeks, and I thought I should address it. “retreat by alanna coca detailed review” I’ve also seen “Alanna Coca Retreat detailed synopsis” and “Retreat spoilers”. It seems that the fact that the hero Jake is married in the book Retreat is giving some readers the willies. I won’t post a detailed review or spoilers anywhere online, lest I spoil it for others, but I am more than happy to answer your questions about Retreat via email. I can be reached at alanna@alannacoca.com. I love to hear from my readers!

What I’m reading ~ I follow Cat Grant and Rachel Haimowitz on Twitter. I heard a discussion about their jointly authored book. Power Play: Resistance. I went to the publisher’s site and read the excerpt, and I was hooked. It’s book one in a series, and I already checked for book two (June, 2012) so at least they aren’t making me wait! I fell for Bran, especially his internal dialogue. This book is not for the faint of heart.

Hero Quote ~ from Treat, the free read prequel to Retreat.

“City folk have a strange sense of civilization.”

That’s all for me. Don’t expect an update next week, unless I find some time in between the RT workshops. I’ll be tweeting pictures as I go, so follow me!

 

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Saturday Status 3/31/12

Filed Under: Author Updates by Olivia Brynn — Leave a comment
March 31, 2012

Woot! What a great week! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a lot of words in on my WiPs. I don’t really have an excuse either.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ I never watched this video until just now. I’m not really sure how I feel about it. But still, take a rap/hip hop artist, pair him with a country music singer, and what do you get?

Work in Progress News ~ I’ve had Dean’s story open all week. Not a whole lot of words yet, but I already love these guys. I realized that none of the first chapter is in Dean’s point of view. Probably since this book is a sequel of Falling Star, the returning character should start the next book, huh? So I started another chapter one. Not in love with it, so we’ll see. The joys of pantsing!

Backlist News ~ Last Call came out last week, which means I’m getting reviews as it climbs the charts! Writing a book with humor is always sketchy. One woman’s funny is another’s eye roll. So far, I haven’t had any eye-rolling reviews.

Industry News ~  You’ve heard the 50 Shades talk. I won’t rehash. Except to say that this book did not invent the erotic romance genre. Mainstream media needs to get that figured out before my Twitter feed blows up.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Nothing too exciting here, but I got this one: ”western heat by alanna coca”, which reminded me that I didn’t show you all the wonderful banner that booknibbles.com made for me for the Romance Times conference on April 9th! Both Western Heat and City Heat have been written quite yet. They’ll be free reads, and I’ll be using these banners at RT to find the heroine to star in the book.

Nice, huh? I can’t wait for the conference. I hope to see a ton of familiar online faces!

Hero Quote ~ from Fine Print, this is Derek:

“Bullshit. I think I got a total of two smiles out of you in the last two hours. You don’t exactly strike me as the June Cleaver type.”

Okay folks. That’s it for me. Have a great week!

 

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Saturday Status 3/24/12

Filed Under: Author Updates by Olivia Brynn — Leave a comment
March 24, 2012

Howdy! Sorry I missed last week. I spent a long (very long) weekend in Denver. This Tyrannosaurus stands inside the entrance to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, where I could have spent three full days, but only had time for a couple hours of exploring. I hope you all had a wonderful St Pats without me.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ True Romance by Citizens! This is a bit of ABBA meets elementary school talent show. I got such a kick out of it, I had to share:

Work in Progress News ~ Well I finally finished the free read. It really shouldn’t have taken me that long, but I’m pretty good at procrastinating. And procrasticleaning, procrasteating etc. You can find the new freebie HERE. It’s not free at Amazon yet, I have to wait for them to price match the other sites (if you feel like reporting it as free elsewhere, I’d be much obliged). So now I’ve got the WiP known as Dean open. This is the second book in the Earth Scents series which follows Adam and Jade’s story in Falling Star. I already love both heroes, so I have high hopes that I won’t clean the garage during this one.

Industry News ~ I wasn’t here last week to give the wonderful news about PayPal. After seeing that Visa wasn’t going to take the blame for disallowing “questionable content” PayPal execs backed down. Great news! Though I still don’t trust that PP won’t pull another stunt when the mood strikes. We’ll see.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ I deleted the post from 2010 that mentioned two specific 1980s movie stars in the buff. I didn’t even have pictures of said men, but I constantly get visits. Other than that, my favorite this week was “trip chastity”. I have no idea, folks.

What I’m reading ~ First Time Forever by KC Burn. An established couple dealing with empty nest. Although these two don’t fall in love in the book, they reconnect in a beautiful way. A very character driven book with plenty of emotion. I really liked it.

Hero Quote ~ from Last Call, which releases MONDAY! *throws confetti* Eric is a hunky firefighter…

“Turnout gear? That’s not sexy, it’s bulky as hell.” He inched lower.“If you’re good, I’ll model for you.”

Okay, that’s it for me. Have a great week!

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Saturday Status 3/10/12

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March 15, 2012

Welcome! Another week gone, and I really don’t have much to show for it wip-wise. One week away from St. Patrick’s Day! I’d better get my corned beef roast before the town runs out (and they always do).

Favorite Song of the Week ~ More Irish music!  This week I’m sharing a song by the lovely group Celtic Woman (I still think they should be called Celtic Women, but what do I know. This song, Danny Boy brings tears to my eyes, especially when performed so beautifully:

Work in Progress News ~ Soooo close to finishing this free read. Alanna has been slacking all week, and I’m waiting so patiently for my use of the corporeal body so I can get something done. She does have a beautiful cover for it though. Thanks Booknibbles.com!

Industry News ~ It seems that Dorchester Publishing has apparently closed its doors. After years of somewhat shady deals and withholding author royalties, this isn’t much of a surprise, but there it is. My thoughts are with the authors who will ultimately be pawns in the big sell-off game. Good luck to you all!

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~  I couldn’t figure this one out. “coca solca”.  Turns out Solca is a town in Romania. Maybe someone is writing a Seussian story about Alanna Coca in Eastern Solca.

What I’m reading ~ This might be why I didn’t finish my freebie. I’m so sorry, but I saw this book and couldn’t help myself! So I helped myself and bought Rule of Three by Kelly Jamieson.  It’s a menage about an established couple adding a third.

“If you follow the rules, you miss all the fun… Kassidy is a good girl who wants to be bad. Dag is a bad boy who is very, very good. And Chris? He likes to watch…”

Hero Quote ~ Another from this freebie that ALANNA BETTER FINISH!!

“Either you admit that our kiss felt as damn good to you as it did to me, or you say it didn’t affect you, and we can do it again.”

Okay, that’s it for me. I work at 5am tomorrow, and with the whole springing forward thing, I’m gonna be one grumpy girl at 4:00 I think they should offer nap time on Spring Forward Sunday. That’s going in the suggestion box. Have a great week, everyone!

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