It is time to start talking vampires.  MUST LOVE VAMPIRES!

And since Mistress Heidi is nothing if not a consummate tease :mistress I thought it would be fun to make every Tuesday between now & MUST LOVE VAMPIRES‘s September 27th release Tease Me Tuesday!

Let’s start with the gorgeous cover, fabulous back cover blurb, where-to-buy information, & the adorable promotional graphic my web goddess made for me:

Kensington Brava
September 27, 2011
ISBN 978-0758247636

LOVE AT FIRST BITE

Nightclub dancer Chloe Lamoureaux just met the man of her dreams: Aidan Raines is charming, considerate, rich, and hot. Of course, he’s a little mysterious about his age. And his favorite drink. And he’s not much for sunlight. But he’s asked her to marry him, and she’s ready to do it. Sure, she has a few secrets too—but they’ll have plenty of time to work things out while they’re living happily ever after. Right?

Her identical twin sister, Chuck, isn’t so sure. Maybe reporting for the local Bigfoot-sighting tabloid doesn’t make her an expert, but to Chuck, Aidan and his brother Sebastian look like honest-to-Dracula vampires. Especially Sebastian: beguiling, seductive, and just a hint of dangerous. Maybe she wouldn’t mind him taking a little taste. But with Chloe’s life in the balance, she has to know—do they want hot love or hot blood? Or maybe…a little of both?

Where To Buy

Amazon :: Kindle ebook :: Barnes & Noble :: NOOK ebook

Borders :: Indiebound

Book Depository (free international shipping)

So what do you think?  Do you feel adequately teased & tousled? :inbed

And, yes, you may Pre-Order it now, if you like.  In fact, Mistress Heidi & I encourage that sort of behavior. :mistress

Word of the Week: Friend at First Sight — When, within minutes of meeting someone, you know for a fact that you will be friends for life.

I know yesterday was Happy Sunday, with plenty of space to list all the things I’m thankful for, but I’ve decided to add an extra Day of Gratitude to WIPs this week, because I’ve got two extra-special items to be thankful for. :angelme

#1 — I’ve got some of the greatest friends in the world.  One of those friends is the fabulous Virginia Kantra.  Virginia & I have been friends for ages, ever since her first book came out with Silhouette Intimate Moments.  I was not yet published, she was signing at the book fair after a New Jersey Romance Writers conference, I bought a copy of her book, she was sweet as a Georgia peach, we hit it off…& the rest is history.

Well, just recently, Virginia sent me a copy of her newest “Children of the Sea” release, Forgotten Sea.  I was momentarily stymied, since I certainly wasn’t expecting it.  (And I always buy my own copies of Virginia’s books almost before the publisher is finished printing them—duh. :tongue )

But this one is special because..

A.)  She signed it.  (Yes, I still get her to sign my books once in a while, but we usually have to do that when we manage to be at the same conference in the same city for a change.)

B.)  She mentioned me in her dedication.  Woot! :chick  And I quote: “Special thanks to my online community of writer buddies…who have mentored, supported, & inspired me, especially Susan Andersen, Heidi Betts, Suzanne Brockmann…”  See—that’s me! In the middle! :claphat

& C.)  She used a quote at the beginning of the book that I sent her.  “The cure for anything is salt water—sweat, tears, or the sea.”  How could I not think of Virginia & her awesome “Children of the Sea” series when I saw that?!

So now I’ve got two copies of Forgotten Sea & may have to give one away here in The Dungeon for an upcoming Free Book Friday.  But not the signed one.  Oh, no…that one is a super-duper extra-special forever Keeper copy. :bees

#2 — I just got a Get Well card in the mail from our very own Darling Laura J.  Thank goodness I didn’t have stitches & was feeling much better by then, because I laughed so hard, I could have done some real damage! :oucher

Here is the front:

And inside, it says, “Hope to see your sassy butt out of bed real soon.”  How did she know I have a sassy butt?  Oh, yeah…it’s implied under the “Sexy, sassy, sensational!” header. :eyelashes

But that’s not all!  Inside the card was an equally fabulous bookmark:

I do worry about zombies!  How did she know?! :hide

But as much as I love it—& I do! I really, really do!—I can never use it for fear it might get bunged up.  It must remain inside it’s protective plastic sleeve forever & ever.  I might use it if I end up reading by candlelight during the Zombie Apocalypse, though.

Thank you so much, Virginia & Laura!  You have made my day, my week, & with Mercury in Retrograde, possibly my whole month. :jump

Happy Sunday!

Well, I guess the obvious this week is that I AM HAPPY my surgery is over & everything went well, & that I am back to feeling 100% normal.  I won’t say better than normal—which was kind of the goal of the procedure—because we don’t quite know how that’s going to work out.  But the sleepiness & overall ookeyness has worn off, so I’ll give a little cheer. :jump

I AM HAPPY I’m back to exercising, both on the airbike & with the weights.  Was a bit hit-or-miss there for a while with the ungodly heat, & then of course I didn’t even bother after the surgery.  But I’m back, bay-bee!  Did a full hour this morning without wanting to give up even once.  Well, okay…maybe once.*g*

I AM HAPPY that—for the time being, at least—the hot, hot, super-hot weather seems to have passed & things are cooling down.  Not always; that God-awful humidity rears its ugly head once in a while & makes me want to scream.  Or worse.  :bloody   But I think Fall is definitely on the way.

I AM HAPPY that I managed to finish two books I was reading recently—Kay Hooper’s Blood Ties & Janet Evanovich’s Fearless Fourteen.  It takes me so long to get through anything these days that if feels as though I carry the same books around with me forever.  Then when I do actually manage to finish one, I feel like happy dancing. LOL :chick

So then I AM HAPPY I’ve started two more—Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton & Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich.  I’m kicking myself a bit for jumping into to such big ones again so soon.  I should really pace myself, read something simpler & less daunting instead.  (And there are a few Harlequin Desires & Intrigues I’ve been eager to read.)  But both of these titles have been sitting here for a while (especially Dreams) & they caught my eye, so I just did it. Oy.  Expect to see them hovering over there in the sidebar for a really, really long time.

There are two more items I AM HAPPY about, but they’re kind of special, so I’m saving them for tomorrow.  Stay tuned. :bw

So how about you?  What great stuff are you happy about or thankful for this week?  Come on, no fair keeping it to yourself—share with the class! :cool

Now to announce the winner of this week’s Free Book Friday giveaway—Rachel Lee’s The Unexpected Hero…

:getdown Serena!!! :getdown

Congratulations, Serena! :claphat Please contact me with your real name & mailing information, & I’ll get your book out to you as soon as I can!