Since we’re halfway through January, I know most of you probably have brand new 2012 calendars up already. But I’m betting you’ll be willing to chuck them for what I’m about to offer! :jumping

Thank you so much for supporting animal welfare by purchasing our 6 Packs/9 Lives calendar!

100% of the proceeds of this calendar purchase goes to provide low cost/high quality spay/neuter in the Los Angeles area.

We created this calendar to change the reputation of cats and cat owners—cats aren’t just for women—they are perfectly awesome pets for MEN and women!

Currently 72% of all cats that enter shelters in the United States are euthanized—by decreasing the negative stigma that is sometimes attached to cat ownership, you are helping to change that statistic!

Want to do more?  Join us on Facebook and Twitter (@FoundAnimalsOrg) and sign up for our newsletters from our website www.FoundAnimals.org.

That’s right—no matter how you cut it, this calendar is rockin’ the love for homeless animals!

It was January already by the time I discovered these babies, but of course I rushed to order!  And I’m hoping you’ll be as excited about them as I am.  I’ve got three (3) to give away, which means three chances to win & spend the rest of the year staring at these gorgeous hunks & their adorable kitty cats!

If you don’t end up winning one of these great calendars from me, though, I hope you’ll still consider ordering directly from FoundAnimals.org.  They’re only $7.99 each, with free shipping & handling.  And remember—all the money goes for animals!

So here’s how to win your very own 6 Packs/9 Lives 2012 calendar:

  I will be giving away one calendar each to winners pulled from here at WIPs and Chains, Twitter, & my “Fans of Heidi Betts” Facebook page.  Which means you have three chances to win, so if you aren’t following me on all three yet, be sure to do so now!

  To enter as a Darling of the Dungeon, leave a comment with the code “WIPs”

  To enter as a Twitter follower, leave a comment with the code “TWEET”

  To enter as a Fan on Facebook, leave a comment with the code “FB”

  If you follow me all three places, feel free to use all three codes, each of which will count as an entry.  (See—three chances to win if you’re a dedicated fan of Miss Heidi & her books. :winkwink )

  U.S. residents only, please, due to high international postage costs.

  Winners will be announced during our “Happy Sunday” post this coming Sunday, January 22nd.

Good luck!  And remember, it’s for the kitties! :kitty

Please join me in welcoming debut author JOAN SWAN to The Dungeon! :whip

Joan is a triple RWA® Golden Heart finalist and writes sexy romantic suspense with a paranormal twist. Her debut novel with Kensington Brava, FEVER, releases February 28, 2012. Her second novel, BLAZE, follows in October 2012.

In her day job, she works as a sonographer for one of the top ten medical facilities in the nation and lives on the California central coast in beautiful wine country with her husband and two daughters.

Though Joan & I both write for Kensington Brava, I only recently got to know her better via Twitter when she rescued an injured & abandoned kitteh.  Well, you know I jumped all over that—animal rescuers are angels on earth, imho, & I had to tweet her a big pat on the back. :kitty

I’m not sure she knew what she was getting into when she agreed to visit with us today, but let’s hope she doesn’t mind jumping right in & letting us torture her just a little… :cuffs

What is your favorite color? As a kid it was yellow. It was yellow for so long that when it changed to purple, I’d still say yellow when people asked…a knee-jerk thing. My mom used to say that she never worried about me when I was young because she knew as long as my favorite color was yellow, I was a happy kid. It shifted to purple sometime in young adulthood, which makes sense since purple is the color of romance. Apropos, yes?

Favorite song? Favorite movie? And of course, favorite book? Nope, sorry. Not going to pin me down on any of these. My tastes change on a weekly basis. I don’t understand the concept of “favorite” when it comes to entertainment. Yes, it’s true—I’m just that fickle.

What was the first book in your chosen genre that you remember reading, or that made you want to write the same? My memory has been destroyed (my oldest daughter is sure my Diet Coke consumption is to blame…she’s probably right, but I’ll never tell her that), so I don’t remember the first. The first that made me want to write the same was probably Hot Rain by Kat Martin. It’s a wild ride through the jungles of Belize, on the run from bad guys with a hot undercover cop. Just doesn’t get much better.

What do you think of Heidi? She’s great, right? Heidi? I thought this was about me. Oh, no wait…that’s my husband’s motto—“it’s all about me.” I hear it so often, I got confused. I think Heidi is a Mother Theresa for the four legged and has a place reserved in heaven where she will never be lonely.  (Note from Heidi: Awww, thank you.  See my note above…I happen to think there will be a lovely spot in Heaven for you, too, for all you did for that sweet little kitten. :kitty )  (Note from Mistress Heidi:  Honey, you’re in The Dungeon now—it’s all about me.  And a little bit about Heidi, when I let it be. :whip )

How did you get started writing? I got tired of reading what was out in print. I had exhausted all the backlists of every decent author I could find and when I started to dredge into the work of less-than-stellar authors, I balked. I didn’t start writing because I thought I could do a better job, I started writing so I could play with the kind of stories I liked to read, busying myself until my faves worked their fingers to the bone for a year on another book so I could devour it in a day. Then I got hooked on writing…and my reading days were never the same.

Tell us a little bit about your first (or most memorable, if you prefer) sale. My first is my only sale, so it would be my most memorable—how convenient! FEVER was originally passed over by the editor at Kensington. She said she’d be interested early on in the submission process, but would require changes to the second half of the book. After going through the rounds with different houses where there were various reasons they didn’t pick up the book—ranging from we just bought something similar to we’re merging with another house and not acquiring while that’s happening (what?!)—we revisited Alicia at Kensington, who said she was surprised it was still available because she was sure it would have gone to auction. **snorting up Diet Coke on the keyboard** Dream on. After discussing her concerns for the second half of FEVER and brainstorming revision ideas, I could see that with Alicia’s help, I could really amp up FEVER’s punch. It was a lot of work, but I feel really good about how those revisions affected both the novel and my abilities as a writer.

Fill in the blank—If you like [blank], you’ll love Joan Swan!  Shannon McKenna…sexy romantic suspense with a paranormal twist…slightly psychotic, snarky creatives shunning a mid-life crisis.  (Wasn’t sure which angle you were going for… :Huh )

Which of your books would you like to pimp today? Tell us about it and why we’ll love every word.  That would have to be FEVER, my debut. FEVER is the first of the new “Phoenix Rising” paranormal romantic suspense series. I think you’ll love every word because I’ve crafted FEVER to be a fast-paced read—you’ll never get bored. I’ve got a hot, hot hero who’s in an impossible situation, fighting to get back the most important thing in the world, and the strongest enemy hell-bent on keeping him from succeeding. I’ve got a strong heroine with a sassy mouth, compassionate enough to see through the hero’s tough exterior and intelligent enough to help him in his quest. To top it off, I’ve got some really fun secondary characters that spice everything up with good looks and quick wits.

The “Phoenix Rising” series pivots around a mysterious explosion at a military warehouse that injures a team of seven HazMat firefighters, killing one. The contents of the building—extremely confidential and dangerous radioactive chemicals used by the Department of Defense in secretive scientific experiments—have inflicted the team with various paranormal abilities. Abilities the government wants to study covertly. Abilities the team wants to understand and expose. With military advancement and national power at risk on one side, and personal health and freedom at stake on the other, each group is fighting for precious stakes.

FEVER is about one of the seven firefighters, Teague Creek, convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, framed by a government threatened by his prying questions into the warehouse explosion. Teague has been denied an appeal, lost the daughter he lived for, and the career as a firefighter he loved. With no hope left, he plans an escape. But his plan goes wrong when the woman he kidnaps as leverage to get his daughter back turns out to be someone else. And this woman quickly clues in to the abilities he tries to hide, creating a bond neither can afford while they’re on the run from both the cops and undercover operatives who want Teague silenced. This time, permanently.

If your plane crashed in the Andes, would you convince the other survivors to eat Heidi first or last?  So, here’s the thing…I strive for a no-cannibalism policy on all my trans-continental adventures, and let me tell you, I have a zero tolerance policy. Why, you ask? After working at a medical facility where they take parts of one person and place them inside various other people, after watching how those operations take place, after seeing all those internal pieces of the human body—you can bet your ass, not only am I not eating any of them, no one is eating any of them around me. Zero. Tolerance. You’re safe on any excursion with me, Heidi. (Yet another note from Heidi:  Whew! :dropmouth )

If you could write anything—whether in the same genre/sub-genre as you’re writing now or another—what would it be?  I really enjoy what I’m writing now—romantic suspense with a paranormal twist. I could happily continue in this vein for a long time. But I’m also very interested in the newer sub-genre of romantic thrillers. I’m a huge thriller fan, but feel they lack that third dimension of a hearty relationship thread. And if they do have the thread, that thread doesn’t always end happily—which is just so wrong. Romantic thrillers fill that little niche of 75% thriller/suspense and 25% Romance with a happily-ever-after that I absolutely hunger for as a reader.

Something I’d also love to write but am not cut out for—at least not now—is romantic comedy. I am so envious of those (present company included) who can write funny. (Hint:  If you have to buy a book entitled “How to Write Funny”—i.e. me—it’s not for you.)

What are you currently working on?  Actually, I’m working on a few things. I’m revising my option proposal to continue the “Phoenix Rising” series with Kensington. I’m revising a romantic suspense manuscript that finaled in the Golden Heart twice for Indie publication. And I just finished a long proposal for a new paranormal suspense series which delves deeper into the genre with witches, demons, and true evil. It’s dark, gritty, and really sexy, and I hope it sells because I’m dying to write it!

LIGHTNING-FAST LASHES:

Leather or lace? Um…I’m more of a cotton or Gortex kinda girl. Yeah, figure that one out, heh!

Devil or angel? Definitely Devil. Never follow the rules. Always looking for the loopholes. Sliding out through the back door before the bell rings. But I look like an angel doing it.

Angel food or devil’s food? Devil’s food—chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate, please. And can I have a little chocolate on the side?

Hemlock or arsenic? Hardly. Hand me that M14 sub, please.

Blood, sweat, or tears? Sweat. Blood and tears both hurt too much. Sweat may hurt, but at least it’s freaking fun at the same time.

Boxers, briefs…or commando? Boxer briefs. Definitely.

Cowgirl or missionary? (Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. I was simply asking what you wanted to be when you were growing up. :winkwink ) My mind had to get out of the gutter, yours was hogging it! Man, this competition is fierce! Girl can’t get any good gutter action around here.  (Further intrusive note from Heidi:  Notice she never answered the question. Which makes me believe she probably never wanted to be a Missionary when she was a little girl. :cuffs )

Thank you so much, Joan, that was great!

Joan has also generously offered to give away a copy of her debut release, FEVER, to one of today’s lucky visitors.  In print or e-book format (winner’s choice) to be delivered upon the book’s February 28th release.  And there are no restrictions, which means this giveaway is open to U.S. & international readers alike!

To enter, simply leave a comment or question for Joan today.

Winner will be announced during our “Happy Sunday” post on January 22nd, so be sure to drop by & see if you won!

Happy chatting & best of luck! :thumbsup