Please help me in welcoming USA Today bestselling author JILL SHALVIS to The Dungeon!  I’m delighted I could talk her into visiting today because I’ve always been a big fan of her books.  (And I’m selfish that way, I guess. :gotcha )

JILL SHALVIS is the award winning author of over four dozen romance novels, including her upcoming sexy contemporary novel The Sweetest Thing, Book 2 in the “Lucky Harbor” series. The four-time Rita nominee and three-time National Readers Choice winner makes her home near Lake Tahoe. Visit her website at www.jillshalvis.com for a complete book list and daily blog.

So let’s put her on The Rack & get started…

What is your favorite color? Red. No, blue. No, wait!  Green. All of them …

Favorite song? “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars.  No, wait—make that “Firework” by Katy Perry.  NO WAIT—“Just A Dream” by Nelly.  I could go on like this for some time…

Favorite movie? Any Harry Potter.  All Lord of the Rings.  Are you seeing a pattern here? I can’t pick.

And of course, favorite book? Oh, good Lord, woman. You are hurting my brain.  :ouch  All of Nora’s. Every “Stephanie Plum” novel. Every Susan Elizabeth Philips and Rachel Gibson. Don’t make me pick just one!

What was the first book in your chosen genre that you remember reading, or that made you want to write the same? I read really bad porny historical novels while in high school, while supposedly in science class. I can’t remember specifics on which books but they were all delicious. And that’s when I knew. I wanted to be an author and live the glamorous life. :beerlaugh

What do you think of Heidi? She’s great, right? FANTASTIC!!!!

How did you get started writing? I was actually a journalism major in college, thinking nonfiction was the way to go. Oh, how wrong I was.

Tell us a little bit about your first (or most memorable, if you prefer) sale. First sale. I had three kids under the age of five. Which, by the way, I don’t recommend. An editor from Bantam called me to offer me my first sale, and my youngest was yelling “WIPE ME” from the bathroom. Good times.

Fill in the blank—If you like [blank], you’ll love Jill Shalvis! Oh, my God, woman! Don’t put me on the spot or anything. Okay, I’ll give this a whirl. If you like…sexy, warm-hearted, fun contemporary romances, then hopefully you’ll love Jill Shalvis. (See how I did that? I know you wanted me to name drop but I don’t have the balls to compare myself to the authors I aspire to be as good as!)  (Note from Heidi: Au contraire. You should have seen the answer Heidi gave during her visit.  (Yes, she was actually the guest author one month at her own blog. :tpspspspt )  I believe she mentioned puppies, chocolate, ice cream, sex…)

Which of your books would you like to pimp today? Tell us about it, and why we’ll love every word.

ANIMAL MAGNETISM… Brady Miller doesn’t smile much because he hasn’t had anything to smile about in a very long time. He’s an ex-Army ranger, now a pilot for hire for organizations like Doctors Without Borders, back in the states at the request of his foster brothers. They run a large animal center in the middle of Nowhere, Idaho, and need his help.

He agrees to stick around for unusually complicated reasons, even though he’s lived his life as purposely uncomplicated as possible. Fact is, he’s not much of a family guy. He’s always been a wanderer, no roots, no home base.

Maybe even a guy who can’t be saved.

It takes a village to show him the truth, including one silly little puppy and one sharp-tongued, sharp-witted heroine willing to knock him flat on his ass to make sure he gets it—that he was never lost at all, and as the saying goes, home is where the heart is…

(Further intrusive note from Heidi:  This is possibly the most adorable cover I’ve ever seen!  Is there anything sexier than a hot guy holding a small animal?  And the look on that puppy’s face…awwwwwww!)

If your plane crashed in the Andes, would you convince the other survivors to eat Heidi first or last? Second to last. Right before me. :chocolate

If you could write anything—whether in the same genre/sub-genre as you’re writing now or another—what would it be? I’m right where I want to be…

What are you currently working on? The sequel to ANIMAL MAGNETISM! I’m finishing it up this weekend, actually. If the heathens that are my children behave…

LIGHTNING-FAST LASHES:

Leather or Lace? Lace

Devil or Angel? Devil

Angel Food or Devil’s Food? Both, please.

Hemlock or Arsenic? Hemlock

Blood, Sweat, or Tears? Sweat. But I prefer “perspire”…

Cowgirl or Missionary? (Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. I was simply asking what you wanted to be while you were growing up. :winkwink ) I always did want to be a cowgirl…

Fabulous, Jill—thank you so much!  I just knew you’d be an entertaining guest! :happyjoy

Jill has also very generously offered to reward one dedicated WIPs and Chains blogger with a free book from her backlist. (This is quite the prize, believe me; her backlist is fantastic!)

To be entered in the drawing, simply ask a question or leave a comment for Jill during her visit today.  (U.S. residents only, please.)  A winner will be chosen & announced on February 13th during our regular Happy Sunday post…just in time for Valentine’s Day! :biggestgrin …so be sure to stop back to see if you’ve won!  (Otherwise, I’m keeping the prize to myself, I swear. )

Good luck & happy chatting!

So yesterday was Super Bowl XLV.  (That’s Super Bowl 45 for the non-Roman speaking Darlings in the house. :tpspspspt )  And for the first time ever, I think, I actually watched the game—any game—the whole way through.  I don’t even know why, I was just suddenly infused with the need to see the Steelers win.

Sadly, they did not. :sadheart   But their loss doesn’t shake my dedication one bit. No, sirree!  We’ll get ’em next year, Pittsburgh!

Last night’s game turned out to be an educational experience for me, though.  I promise, absolutely promise this will be my last Super Bowl-related post, but I just had to pass along a few things I learned about myself while watching this year’s game:

There is apparently a very passionate sports fan living inside of me.  This is quite the epiphany, considering I never thought I cared much at all for sporting events before.  And yet, last night I caught myself yelling some rather creative things at the TV screen.

Even though I kept saying all week that I really didn’t care about the Super Bowl & was only moderately interested because I am loyal to the Pittsburgh Steelers (& Pirates & Penguins), apparently I do care.  A lot.  Because I got very involved in the game this year & was sorely, sorely disappointed when my team lost.  Let’s just say a lot of very nasty four-letter words spilled past my lips.

I’m a really good fan to have on your team, but not so great for the other guys.  Some of the things that popped out of my mouth about the Packers…who, by the way, I know nothing about; they just had the misfortune of playing against one of my favorite teams…will probably gain me a very nice spot in the Seventh Level of Hell.

Quite a few of those Packers need haircuts. I mean, seriously, guys? Seriously?  At least tie that crap back with a scrunchie or something. :sick   You looked like a bunch of leftover hair band rejects from the 80s.  And I should know; I used to be very fond of some of those hair bands!

Even being a die-hard Steelers fan, I could totally go for the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers. I’m not sure I agree with him being named MVP after the game I saw, but he is a cutie & several times during the game, it did seem as though he was pretty much the only player from his team doing anything out there on the field.

I would make a terrible soccer (or football or baseball or basketball or hockey) mom.  The coaches would hate me.  So would the other parents.  And I would likely send children screaming from the field in tears.

Cats aren’t used to my sporting enthusiasm.  They gave me very strange looks when I grumbled & cursed, & went running whenever I shouted in glee over a touchdown.

I actually can sit through an entire football game.  I didn’t think that was physically (or mentally) possible for me.  But even though there was a Monk marathon on another channel & I was also sort of trying to watch Jason Statham in War, the only time I turned to either of those was during boring commericals or half-time.

The Black-Eyed Peas really need to stay in the studio.  Love their music, but only after it’s been recorded & filtered & fixed.  Their live performance…woof. :crazy

Just because I watch an entire football game does not mean I know what they’re talking about.  I was pretty much clueless the whole time & only knew which team did well by which players started to do a little cheer or dance.

I am a really sore loser.  Seeing my team lose when they’d been so freaking close to winning, & having them foul up the last quarter when they’d been doing so well up till then put me in an exceptionally lousy mood the rest of the night.  Even the cats gave me a wide berth there for a while.

So can we get a do-over?  I’m pretty sure the Steelers could take the win with a do-over. :angeldevil

P.S. Don’t forget that guest author JILL SHALVIS will be with us tomorrow, chatting about her latest release, Animal Magnetism.  Mark your calendars so you don’t miss it.  And, yes, there will be a giveaway! :eeee