This week’s hunk is Jason “Sigh” Statham, the not-so-secret inspiration for Ian Hart, the vampire-slash-cop-slash-hottie hero of “It’s a Wonderful Bite” in THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS…

Tomorrow is the first day of Autumn, so I thought it might be fun to play a little game of “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.”

So get out your pad & pencil, & start making a list.  And while you do that, I’ll share mine…

Sometimes I don’t watch TV shows when they first begin to air. Either because I’m busy or don’t think they look all that interesting. Then later, they become really popular & I start to wonder what all the hoopla is about, so I’ll wait until they start to repeat from the very beginning & try to catch up. This summer, I finally got around to doing that with both Bones & White Collar.  Enjoyed them both, but don’t think I’ll be buying them on DVD anytime soon.

I found a new dentist.  My old one retired, so I was scrambling there for a minute, but then my wonderful orthodontist recommended a pal of his, & I was lucky enough that they were willing to take me on as a new patient.  Of course, his office is about nine katrillion times farther than my previous dentist, but what can I do?  It’s a good excuse to go shopping afterwards, I guess. 😀

I discovered a terrific new restaurant in my area that I’d previously been quite against frequenting.  Partly because it’s always horribly crowded, partly because it’s got a very “sports bar” feel to it, & partly because it was always filled with cigarette smoke.  Thanks to Pennsylvania’s new no-smoking-in-restaurants law, though, one of those is no longer a concern.  And once I actually brought myself to go in & sit down, I discovered the food is fantastic.  More’s the pity for my waistline, let me tell you. 😥

As you well know, things are cooking here in The Dungeon because I was lucky enough to track down & hire a wonderful, brand new web designer.  I’m already delighted with the work she’s done & can’t wait to see what she comes up with in the future. :cake:

I didn’t attend the RWA conference in Orlando this year, which sort of scrapped any chances of my getting to leave town for an actual vacation.  (Yes, I realize RWA is work, but it’s about the only traveling I do, so when it’s in a good city/state, I try to fit in some sightseeing too & at least call it an annual vaca. :-/ )  I was, however, invited to visit both Hilton Head & the Cayman Islands.  Nice, right?  Yeah…I probably won’t, at least not anytime soon because of the dreaded D-word (deadlines :zombiekiller: ) but it’s nice to have the option.

It’s a boy!  No, it’s a girl!  Wait—it’s both!  😛 That’s right, I am the proud mama of two wonderful new fur-babies.  Simon, of course, way back in April, & then only two short months later, I was blessed with the beautiful Bella.  I know, I know, but if you could see them & live with them for just five minutes, you’d fall in love, too.  And though no one could ever replace my precious Angel or Indy, I really feel as though God gifted me with these two new darlings to make up for losing them last year. :cat2:

Last, but definitely not least, I wrote two brand new Silhouette Desires over my summer vaca.  That’s right—two!  Whew.  The first was my December release, INHERITING HIS SECRET CHRISTMAS BABY, which is the sixth & final installment of the “Dynasties: The Jarrods” continuity series, & the second was a stand-alone currently titled THE CEO’S SECRET HEIR.  I was thrilled with how they both turned out.  It wasn’t easy, either, & that sound you hear…  That would be both the cracking of my bones & my moan of pain as I reach around to pat myself thoroughly on the back. 😎

I also got started on my second sexy, sassy vampire romance for Kensington Brava, & though I’m not very far along yet, I think I deserve a little mini-pat for that, as well.  (Or perhaps I should save that for after I finished & see how the whole story holds together.  :quiet: )

So that’s how I spent my summer…  How about you?

Yes, it’s true!  Only one short week left until you can get your hands on a copy of THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Ooooh, I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it. (Much like The Night Before Christmas, if you must know. :present: )

I’ve also got three pieces of fun information to share today:

First, I am guest blogging today at our own Darling Jessica‘s website, Smile, Feel Good, Pass it On.

She luuurved her ARC of THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS so much that she’s invited me over to pimp the book.  And not just for today.  Oh, no…this girl knows how to throw a party. :party:   First, she teased her visitors with this string of garlic.  Then she decided to let me take over her little corner of cyberspace for not one day, but three!

That’s right, Darling Jessica will be breaking up my very fun interview into two parts—Monday & Tuesday—then announcing the winner of the giveaway & pimping BITE even harder on Wednesday.

And what, you may be wondering, will I be giving away?  Why, an ARC of THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, of course. :vampire:  Yes, another one.  I’ve only got a few left, but I couldn’t think of a better opportunity to share a sneak peek of this book I am so very excited about.

Speaking of ARCs for THE BITE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, it’s time to announce the winner of last week’s Free Book Friday!

Christy H.!!!

Congratulations, Christy!  Thanks for dropping in for our first ever Free Book Friday.  And I hope you’re still hanging around to collect your prize.  Please contact me with your name & mailing address & I’ll get your ARC of THE BITE BEFORE CHRSTMAS—along with a handful of other fun goodies—out to you as soon as I can.

Last but not least, you may have noticed that we have gravatars now in the comment section of The Dungeon.  In case you aren’t familiar with what a gravatar is, it’s those little pics beside each person’s name when they leave a comment on the blog.  Mine is the cover of BITE, others sometimes use graphics of their own choice, & if you aren’t set up with a gravatar of your choice, then it will show up as one of those funny faces.

I started to realize that maybe not everybody knows how to get one, though.  So if you’ve been wondering & wanting a personalized gravatar of your very own, I thought I’d tell you how.  It’s really easy. :yes:

First, simply go to Gravatar.com.  There will be a button that says “Get Your Gravatar today!”  Click on that & open an account with them.  Take note:  Whatever e-mail address you use to set up this account will forever (or at least until you change it LOL) be connected to the graphic you pick as your gravatar, so be sure it’s the address you’ll be using when you blog.

And it helps if you have a gravatar picked out already, too.  You can find these at Photobucket.com or use a personal photograph or whatever.  Just make sure you have the picture/graphic saved on your computer because that’s where Gravatar will ask you to browse when you’re choosing.

Follow Gravatar’s instructions (which are pretty easy) & add the photo/graphic of your choice.  Voila! You’re done.  Now, whenever you leave a comment at a website that asks for your e-mail address & allows gravatars, that’s the pic that will show up.

And not to worry; you can change your gravatar anytime you like.  Just log back into Gravatar & set up a new one.  You can also, if you’d like, open more than one account so you can have a certain gravatar for some of your posts & another for others.  I did this for myself & Mistress Heidi, & Darling Laura did it so she could have her pimp hat just for playing here in The Dungeon.

Good luck, have fun, & hopefully we’ll see a few more personalized gravatars vying for attention here soon. :beauty: