It's Rhonda!

Hey!

It's been a hectic week, but I spent a few minutes with Rhonda Lee Carver. She's pretty cool. I think you'll like her. 

So now, here's your chance to spend some time with her--We have a few things in common--besides the steamy writing thing we do. *g*

MEET RHONDA LEE CARVER, Ladies and Gentlemen!!

Fall is coming. Hip, hip hooray!!! I am a huge fan of autumn, for many reasons.

I’m from Ohio, you know, O-H-I-O? It’s football season. If there’s one thing you know about my home state, it has to be that Ohioans love their football. I’m not talking about hanging around the TV and rooting on the team. I’m talking a severe case of nothing-else-matters-but-the-buckeyes. Look into any closet in the state and I bet you’ll find scarlet and gray. I’m serious. We are a state that takes pride in the sport. Tailgating should be our state nickname. If you’ve never been to a live game, you must try it at least once. The camaraderie is amazing.

Now that we’ve talked football, let’s talk confections. First thing that comes to mind is: kitchen + pumpkin = love. I love everything about pumpkin. Taste, smell, color, carving…I can’t get enough. I have already started my fall collection of pumpkin recipes. I have full intentions of making every single one, and adding a few of my own. 

The changing of the season brings such beauty to this area. Luckily, I live on a large plot of land and am surrounded by trees. The bright green leaves have started turning shades of red and orange. Soon, yellow will make its appearance. That’s when we know for certain summer has passed and fall has blessed us with its arrival. There can be nothing more pleasing to the eye than the beautiful earth as it paints us a real portrait.

Fall has a scent. I call it “brisk.” Fresh, crisp and earthy. It’s like no other smell of nature. The soft breeze carries it on its wings. If we pay close attention we can see how brisk entwines with other marvels of the season. Apples, fires burning in open pots (this is a wonderful season for bonfires) and in fireplaces, and pumpkin of course.

Halloween brings lots of smiles in my house. My kids love dressing up in their fave costumes. How fun is it that we can gather together, dress up in something we love and head out to collect candy? Candy alone is yummy, but throw in a costume and that’s simply divinity. Adults should join in. Dress up and take a trip down memory lane. I remember every trick-or-treat adventure. The greatest memory of all is visiting the local apple market during their apple harvest. Hay rides, apple cider and slushies, apple pie, picking my own apples, face painting, and the sound of kids’ laughter. 

I will miss summer, sure. Yet, fall is a comfort to me. It brings back precious memories and good times. 

~~

Can a past love become their future?

The Thorntons' mansion is full of timeless secrets waiting to be unraveled. When small-town journalist Ivy and ghost hunter Max are stuck in the forgotten, dilapidated house, they find more than just a haunting. Ivy finds herself dreaming of the former owners, Marcus Thornton and his lovely wife, Elizabeth. Their profound love was once the talk of the town, and the cause their mysterious, untimely deaths never found. When Ivy's dreams begin to become reality, the mystery starts to unravel and sheds truth on more than just the past.

WARNING: Graphic language, naughty ghosts, a non-committal male, and a love that endures beyond time and death.

Rhonda Lee Carver

Everyone deserves romance—one page at a time…

http://www.rhondaleecarver.com

   

Ella Jade! Inspiration Comes in Strange Places…

Inspiration Comes in Strange Places…

Where did the idea for Make Me Stay Come from? One night back in January, I couldn’t get the Katy Perry song The One That Got Away out of my head. I was humming it in the shower and bam, the idea for my newest novella hit me.

I hopped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around myself and logged onto my computer as fast as I could. It was one of those moments where I had to get the scene down. It didn’t even matter that I was wet and shivering. It was the first time in my writing journey where I started at the end of the book. The chapter kept playing out in my head, and I knew no matter what happened from the beginning of the story on, I had to end up with what I had just written.

Now, don’t ask me what that song has to do with a BDSM romance, I’m still not sure. But, for whatever reason those lyrics triggered something in my subconscious. The inspiration was so strong that I managed to write Make Me Stay in three days. The story flowed, and the characters cooperated, so I went with it. Make Me Stay is a story about reconnecting with a lost love and finding away to make life work, no matter how crazy it may seem. It’s a love story at the core. I’m really pleased with the final outcome and I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

I’m also in the process of writing a second book called Surrender to Me. This novella will feature the main characters, Cade and Gracie, from Make Me Stay, but Martin Abrams will be the focus. You’ll meet Martin in Make Me Stay. He was one of those characters that wouldn’t leave me, so I gave the sexy Dom his own book.

Here’s a peek into Make Me Stay available now from Beachwalk Press…

Can the sub teach the Dom to play?

Natural submissive Gracie Miller thought she had found her other half in Cade Jameson. Not only did he help her through a difficult time in her life, in the bedroom he brought her more pleasure than she could have ever imagined. They seemed perfect for each other.

 Cade knew what he wanted in the bedroom. Gracie brought out his domineering side and ignited his passion. But he feared he was too dominant for this beautiful, naïve girl, who was so young and impressionable, so he ended their relationship.

Two and a half years later, Gracie returns to town a new woman. She had moved to the city and found a "Master" who showed her what she was truly capable of. Now she's back and wants to show Cade exactly what kind of submissive she could be for him.

But after hearing all that she's experienced, Cade now wonders if he's dominant enough to satisfy her. Can he be the man Gracie needs him to be?

Content Warning: graphic sex, BDSM themes
http://beachwalkpress.com/make-me-stay/

***
Excerpt…
Ten minutes later they were seated at a quaint restaurant in the center of town. Cade had requested a quiet table in the back so they wouldn't be interrupted. He was confused enough and didn't need any distractions. Being a well-known businessman, he was always running into people who wanted to have a drink with him. Gracie's return would probably be the talk of the town in a matter of days.

Once they ordered dinner and the waitress poured their wine he'd had enough small talk. He wanted answers.

"Why did you come back?"

"I told you." Gracie sipped her wine. "I took a job here."

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Of course not." She lowered her head.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Just look at me." He was puzzled over her return and her elusiveness frustrated him.

She quickly raised her gaze, meeting his eyes.

"You walked away from this town without a trace. I don't believe you would come back after all this time to consult. Something isn't right."

"You told me to leave."

"Me!" He tapped his chest. "I told you to leave me. I never expected you to disappear. I thought I'd know where you were and what you were doing." Even though he told her to go, he'd always intended to take care of her.

"Without you, there wasn't anything here for me. You were everything. I had no family. I lived in your house. Where did you expect me to go?"

"We could have figured it out together. I would have made sure you were taken care of." She'd always been his responsibility and when she left he panicked she'd end up on the street.

"I needed to go. I had to figure out who I was. That's what you wanted."

"I wanted you to be happy."

"I am." She smiled. "I told you, I met someone who helped me."

"Then why aren't you with him?" He didn't like to think about her with another man. It infuriated him to know someone else touched what was his, even if he did let her go. "Are you running from him? Is that why you're back here? Do you need my help?"

She laughed. "I could never run from Martin."

He hated knowing his name. "So, Martin was your boyfriend?"

"Not really." She took another sip of her wine.

Her mysterious behavior pissed him off. She'd better start talking and fast.

"Your husband?" He felt his blood boil. Could she have gotten married?

"Cade," she said as she reached for his hand. "I don't want you to freak, but Martin was my Dom. I was his submissive."

***

Thanks so much for joining me today. I love making new friends so please connect with me…
http://ellajadeauthor.weebly.com/

Thanks so much for having me. J. J.

Let's Get Dangerous...I mean Serious. About Blogging

I love that duck. Nothing against Daffy, Donald, Uncle Scrooge, or any other cartoon duck. But Darkwing Duck will always be my hero.

I don't know what that says about me...

(You don't know how badly I wanted to include a clickable sound file there.)

Well, anyway--I just don't feel like I've put enough into my own blog--as opposed to various other blogs where I post different things.

So, now all that's going to change. To kick things off, I'm giving away 2 Amazon Gift Certificates and 2 E-books--4 winners in all.

What do you have to do? Join my Blog or my other Blog. That's it. To add enticement, I've got some special bloggers dropping in to say howdy.  From now on, in fact, I hope to have another author, or some entertainer or other, drop in about once a week.

Tomorrow, I'll post something from Ella Jade -- on August 21--that's Tuesday -- we'll be entertaining Mina Carter.

You'll just have to wait and see who we get after that.

I'll still be posting, of course. I'll let you know about whatever crosses my mind, along with what books are out and what I'm up to work-wise. (you've been warned *g*)

Oh, and by the way-- I'm sure I already told you this but I'm having a sale:

Two of my books are 45% off for two weeks! 

A Hunted Heart is *$1.34* and you can get it at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00702ZF4M or Smashwords- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/153879

For the last decade, Von Branigan has lived his solitary life estranged from the only woman he ever loved. He’d been wronged and for ten long years he isolated himself from the world, keeping his hurt and loneliness wrapped around him like a cloak.

Tati is tired now. She’s done. If not for Von, she would have thrown in the towel and let the bad guy win. Have the years without her taught him bitterness or has he finally grown into the man she thought she’d married? Is there a safe haven out there for her hunted, wounded heart?

Three M/M Short Stories: Volume One is *$.99* and you can get it at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WA320Q or Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/153840

You never know when you'll find Mister Right--or even Mister Right Now. Sometimes you need one thing, sometimes another.

Chasing Jonas

Is life just beginning for Jonas, or is it all mapped out? He doesn't know it yet, but somebody has plans for Jonas. Plans he just might like…

After Class

Just because a college career is nearly at its end, there's no reason to stop learning. But first, you have to find just the right professor.

Office Politics

 Mark has had a thing for his boss since the first day. Unfortunately, Jack Weaver is a man's man in a politically correct climate. Too bad Mark doesn't understand politics.

Belonging to MacGregor was already $.99 so that hasn't changed--Amazon or Smashwords

Eian MacGregor existed in a never-ending limbo, caught in an envelope in time. Eternity stretched ahead of him, a hopeless and lonely place. Or was it?

Dead, or something like it, for over two hundred years, Eian MacGregor had given up. He couldn't get away from his bloody past nor did he have any hope of attaining the future he'd been promised.

Fat. Fat, ugly, frigid, and in love with a ghost. That's how Elsabetta Finlay was described by the man she had been betrothed to as a young girl. If only Eian MacGregor was real and alive--if only he loved her and wanted her, Elsabetta's dreams would come true. But dreams were for children and she was all grown up now. 

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And that's all I've got for now! See you later!