A little late with this.  In the middle of a busy weekend.

Remember last week how I mentioned that I had a believer at home? Well that status has changed to “informed”. Thanks to a little boy in the third grade who felt the need to share. Unfortunately.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ It’s YouTube’s Closed Caption Fail–Christmas edition. I’ll let Rhett and Link explain it:

Work in Progress News ~ I’ve been on page 89 in Wyoming Solace for a while now. I keep going back and tweaking scenes, researching dialogue, and overall just plain procrastinating. I do have a new release date for WS, June 26, 2012 which is about six weeks earlier! So I really need to stop messing around and finish this rewrite! I also came up with another book idea, so that’s been percolating in the back of my mind. Along with the others there…

Industry News ~ For the last three weeks in a row, Amazon has been selling at least a million Kindles per week. Go ahead and reread that. 1,000,000 Kindles each week. It’s pretty amazing. That means three million new devices out there just waiting for new content! I know I’ve got one under the tree just taunting me right now.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ This week, along with the usual, I have this one: “bus hunks”. So I started thinking about this guy: I just realized his license plate was a soul patch. What a kick.

What I’m reading ~ I bought Sara Brooks’ Hard as Stone as an incentive to finish Wyoming Solace. I thought if I told myself it was waiting for me, I’d quit dinking around. Instead, this guy was sitting on my desktop whispering naughty things into my ear, and since I have no willpower, I succumbed. I don’t even feel guilty about it! Blurb:

Brady thrives on saving patients in his busy emergency room, but when things don’t go according to plan, he’s unprepared for a chance encounter. There’s something familiar, and mysterious, about the downright sexy-as-hell stranger he encounters on a busy Chicago street.

In Garrett’s world, there are no coincidences. He’s been the doctor’s secret guardian for years. Driven by a burning need unknowingly stirred by Brady more than a decade ago, Garrett finally breaks his silence. He steps in to show Brady there’s more to life than rescuing those in need.

Roused by their desperate passion for one another, their desire reaches an explosive breaking point. Brady realizes one night isn’t enough, but Garrett is bound by rules he can’t change. Now Brady’s healing touch may save more than just a life—it may just save Garrett’s soul.

This is a beautiful story, and I’m glad my willpower sucks.

Hero Quote ~ from Olivia’s book Falling Star:

“I don’t want to scare you away before I’ve had a chance to thoroughly impress you with my wit and wisdom.”

I suppose that’s it for me. I’ll probably skip next weekend’s post, I’m sure you understand. Have a Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all!

Welcome! Are you in the holiday spirit yet? It’s slowly seeping into my bones.

Slowly.

I think the music is helping, and I’ve got a believer at home, so it’s hard not to get sucked into the joy. Wow, sound so cheerful, huh? Maybe I’ll try peppermint candles.

Favorite Song of the Week ~  Someone tweeted a link to this one a few days ago, and I read the copy. I didn’t know that Bing Crosby died just one month after recording this song, and one month before it aired on television in 1977. I think this is one of my favorite cover/mashups. I found a version that left out the cheesy acting in the beginning, because I’m nice like that.

 

Work in Progress News ~ Working diligently on Alanna’s Wyoming Solace. Did you know the word “okay” wasn’t in use in 1894? I’m using the online etymology dictionary and finding lots of gems like this. I also discovered that Cody, the hero in Wyoming Solace is the strong silent type. I can’t seem to get the man to say more than three sentences at a time. I guess that’s just how it’s gonna be.

Industry News ~ I’ve got nothing. You’re welcome.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ Well, other than the normal “hairy {celebrity} naked” search terms, which I won’t repeat here again, I got this one that made me smile: “sexy hairy trail”. You got it, Googler. Welcome to the sexy hairy trail that is Olivia Brynn.com

What I’€™m reading ~I bought one of the Carina Press Holiday novellas. This is a contemporary friends-to-lovers story that I’ve always been a sucker for, and I read it in between chapters of my western rewrite. I love Shannon Stacey’s style.

Claire Rutledge still believes in love, despite losing her husband. So, after two years, she’s not surprised by the steamy dreams telling her it might be time to start moving on. But she didn’t expect her friend Justin to have the starring role.

Justin McCormick has loved Claire since the moment he first saw her, but his best friend got there first. Now that Claire is ready to move on with her life, Justin is finding it harder than ever to hide his true feelings. And when they both get caught up in the holiday spirits at a party, their simmering mutual attraction boils over into a night neither of them can forget…

See? I read a Christmas themed book. I’m trying folks! Mistletoe & Margaritas is definitely worth a read. Click the cover to get to Amazon and buy your copy.

Hero Quote ~ I went through Cover Story today, not sure why, but I found a typo and a plothole that drove me crazy, I had to fix it and reupload it to the ebookstores. I’m so glad I have control of them in order to be able to do that. While I was there I found a quote from Bo, the younger man in the May/December romance. I’ll have to set this one up though. Cate has just asked him if the dumbstruck women they just passed by was a common occurrence for him. His reply:

“I prefer my women striking. But not dumb.”

Last but not least, you’ll see in the post below that there’s one helluva blog hop going on right now! Just click the banner below to get started. We’re giving away a brand new Kindle Fire, tons of ebooks, and you can meet some new authors and read some festive snippets.  We’ll also be chatting at Gem Sivad’s chat room on Saturday night. Come on! Join the fun!

 It’s up at Amazon! So far that’s the only place I found it, but I’ll keep looking.

When sparks flare, stop, drop and roll with it.

When Eric Layton lunges for his ringing cell phone in the middle of the night, he’s halfway to the door before he realizes it’s not his chief summoning him to an out-of-control fire. It’s an out-of-control woman who’s too tipsy to figure out she’s dialed the wrong number. But the line goes dead before he can explain he’s not her brother.

His conscience won’t let him leave the woman to wait for a ride that’s never going to come. Yet nothing prepares him for the chemistry when he helps Joanne into his truck. She’s curvy, blonde, and vulnerable—a three-alarm warning to do the right thing and keep her at arm’s length.

Still keeping watch over her through the night sounds reasonable. Until she awakens, and desire burns reason to a crisp…

This book has been previously published.

Warning: Contains explicit sex scenes that may be too hot for summer reading. Author recommends you check to make sure your air-conditioning is in working order and turned up full blast.

How about an excerpt? I’ve got the first chapter posted on the Last Call Book Page.

Happy Saturday!  Busy weekend for me, along with working extra hours at the Evil Empire, the grade-schooler has some functions that should keep me out of all kinds of trouble. Not that I’m leaving my house to enter the deep freeze for anything except the most important things.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ I’m moving this feature to the top, so you can listen to the song as you continue reading the post. I just heard this today, thanks to Rhapsody’s Holiday Playlist. The First Noel by Toby Mac featuring Owl City There isn’t a video, so I didn’t even bother posting the visual. Have a listen! What do you think?

Work in Progress News ~ Currently about 2/3 through Wyoming Solace.  I’m changing a few things, but I doubt anyone would notice except me. There’s a plot thread I snipped, so now I’m darning the weave back together. I’m also adding dialogue and some UST in the first few chapters. Let’s hope it all turns out. As an author it’s very hard to open a three year old file and re-work it to incorporate everything I learned since the book was first written. I’m trying my best to keep the story the same, just cutting some of the extra cheese.

Backlist News ~ Over at Dark Mountain Books, I finally put my indie books up at BookStrand and Google. I’m not sure how many readers I’ll find there, but this also puts the books into the Googlebooks database. Trina and I are also making plans for Holiday promotions, so stay tuned!  Also, I received the final versions of Last Call in my inbox yesterday. They’re all wrapped and ready for March!

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ This week someone found Alanna’s site by searching for “coca liar”.  Liar is such a hateful label. It’s fiction, boys and girls.

What I’m reading ~ This week I’ve been so busy working on Wyoming Solace, I didn’t get a chance to read anything new. I hope I finish this rewrite so I can reward myself with some of my Cyber Monday purchases!

Hero Quote ~  Direct from Josh the cowboy hero in my contemporary western Tessa’s Pride 

“I’ve pulled the memory of that afternoon out more times than I can count. I’ll never forget the way you looked with your Stetson tilted over your brow. Your bare legs, so smooth…and your mouth… God, your mouth.”

Okay folks, get back to your holiday shopping! I’m right behind you.

I hope all my fellow Americans had a great Thanksgiving! I spent mine making a bunch of noise surrounded by my huge family. The best part is…I still have a whole pie in the fridge! Good times.

Work in Progress News ~ This week I’ve been going over my very first book, Alanna’s Wyoming Solace. I want to rework a few scenes before Linda, my editor over at Samhain gets a hold of it. There’s an entire plot thread I decided to remove. It might shorten the book some, but I think it will be a better story in the end. I’m only about 1/3 of the way through. I hope this doesn’t take me too long, because I’ve got new stories begging to be written!

Industry News ~ One of the scariest things to pop up in a long time, SOPA–the Stop Online Piracy Act–an anti-infringement bill that’s working it’s way through the U.S. House, while its companion bill PIPA–Protect Intellectual Property Act is in the hands of the Senate. Opposition has gone viral, with over a million emails hitting Congress. SOPA would give content owners the ability to shut down access to “rogue” sites, force Web registries to block entire domains, and force banks and credit card companies to stop doing business with sites accused of supporting or inducing infringement, with just a court order. This would mean no more picture sharing across the web, it could affect book excerpts on author sites…it could get really ugly. Even Wikipedia would be in danger, and I don’t know about you, but I LOVE my Wiki.

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ I found it a little interesting that people found Alanna’s site by searching for “silky red teddy” and another group of folks found me by Googling “red satin background”. Coincidence? Yeah probably.

What I’m reading ~ I read two short books last week, one is Revealed by Lissa Matthews. It’s book three of a trilogy, but I didn’t realize that when I purchased it. Luckily the book stands on its own, I just missed a bunch of the sexual tension and first meeting of these two.  I might just go back and read the other two now. And yes, one does wear a kilt. This is the halting/awkward beginnings of a D/s relationship between these two guys. I enjoyed reading their discomfort. I also read a quickie by Vivien Dean called Tis the Season. This one felt more like the beginning of a trilogy, as it left me begging for more. Two divorced dads meet after a school function for their kids. I really liked these two characters, and would love to read more about them –hint hint, Vivien.

Hero Quote ~ This is actually internal thought from Cody, the hero in Wyoming Solace:

You did it. You let her go. Congratulations. Now get your ass back on your horse and get the hell out of here.

Favorite Song of the Week ~ Okay, it’s the time of year where I break out the Christmas music! So you’ll see my faves here for the next six weeks or so. This one is great, it’s by Straight No Chaser, a twelve man acappella group. They have such fun with this song.

That’s it for me. Have a great week!

Wait, Thanksgiving week? For reals? I do love Thanksgiving. Food and I have a love/love relationship, so any day dedicated to stuffing myself silly is pretty much my favorite. Welcome back, I’m asking for reader help this week on a little side project. I’ll do my begging at the end though.

Work in Progress News ~ I just (literally, just three minutes ago as of posting this) wrote The End on my short contemporary. It not only has a title, but it’s got an awesome cover. What do you think? Booknibbles does great work. I’m looking at a few publishers for this guy. For more info, and to read chapter one, click the covers. Next up–reworking Alanna’s Wyoming Solace for republication.

Upcoming Release News ~ Last Call got its new cover! Isn’t it pretty? Booknibbles tweaked the font a bit to show how HOT the book is! This book is coming out in March. I just received the ARC, and it’s beautiful. Samhain does lovely work.

Industry News ~ Kindle just announced their delayed gifting program. Now I can buy a Kindle book as a gift, and tell Amazon when to deliver it. This is great for Christmas presents! On that note, if there’s anyone out there who’d like to give one of my books as a Kindle gift, I’ve got cover flats I can sign and send to the recipient so they have something under the tree. Just drop me a line!

Search Term of the week aka How People Found My Websites ~ How about “touch sexy in bus”? Makes you think of Alanna Coca, right?

What I’m reading ~ Usually before bed I like to read a bit. Often I pick books I’ve already read so I don’t stay up all night long reading something really good. Well, dumb me, I picked up Josh Lanyon’s The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks. I admit, when I first read the title, I pictured Tom Hanks and his one red shoe, that’s how old I am. Anyway, this is a great mystery, complete with a haunted house, seances, and a great cast of characters. Then the love story, which is a great tale of opposites attract. A very good read, but not when you think you can just read “a chapter or two and then go to bed at a decent hour”. That won’t happen.

Hero Quote ~ From Last Call, my newly covered re-release:

“Look at me. You’re beautiful. Sexy. Funny. Smart.” He licked her lips. “And you feel damn good around me. If there’s a man out there who can’t appreciate you for all that I can already see, then he’s a fool that you’re better off without.”

Favorite Song of the Week ~ Nina Doesn’t Care. By Susan Egan, Disney’s Broadway Belle. Have a baby, it’s an ego-check.

Thanks for stopping by! Now for my favor…I’m doing a little something special for the Romance Times conference next year. Without giving the whole thing away, let me just say I have some cover photos, and I need some titles. Now, if they’re really good titles, I might actually write the book, but as it is, I just need the cover and title. I’ve got them posted on Google Plus and Facebook. If you could hop over to one of those sites and give me your opinions, you might win a backlist book!  Thanks in advance. Have a great week!