It occurred to me recently that I occasionally use—or may use in the future—terms here at WIPs and Chains (& on Facebook & Twitter) that may not be easily identifiable to everyone.  And that if you’re going to be a frequent visitor or follower of my Tweets/updates, you may be in need of a short “Glossary of Dungeon Terms” to refer back to every once in a while.

Mistress Heidi — Your cruel & heartless mistress, of course.  As well as Heidi’s partner-in-crime (& sometimes we mean that literally)/co-hostess of WIPs and Chains.  She loves visitors (the more, the naughtier), collecting Dungeon Hotties to do her sexy & evil bidding, & wields her whip with the greatest of ease.

Heidi — This is me! Just little ol’ me.  I’m cute & sweet & fluffy.  Sugar & spice & everything nice…but with a slightly wicked side. (See: “Mistress Heidi“)  I write romance novels, love animals & chocolate & tea.  I promote animal rescue & adoption, enjoy a good boycott, & fight injustice wherever I see it.  I also enjoy reading, TV & movies, & being left the hell alone.

Darling(s) of The Dungeon — That’s you!  Any wonderful reader/visitor who likes to hang out here at WIPs and Chains, enjoys Heidi’s books, talking about books & TV & movies, LOLing & LMAOing & ROTFLMAOing, freebies, ogling sexy men, being sometimes naughty/sometimes nice, & have survived the occasional beating from Mistress Heidi…  Well, go ahead & call yourself a Darling of the Dungeon—you’ve earned it!

Dungeon Hotties (a.k.a Blatant Beefcake) — Since my Darling Dwayne keeps me plenty busy, I don’t spend much time with the Dungeon Hotties (he he—& if you believe that one, I’ve got some swamp land in Florida to sell you :tpspspspt ), but Mistress Heidi certainly does.  And though it’s not typical of her to be so generous, she does occasionally let one of the Hotties out of his cell to mingle with the rest of the Dungeon dwellers.  You never know when one of these blatantly beefcake hunks will appear, so it’s best to keep your eyes peeled & enjoy them to the fullest when they do.  (Although I have it on good authority that you can often catch a glimpse of one of Mistress Heidi‘s sexy minions on Wednesdays. :winkwink )

Madame Mommy Dearest — This would be Heidi’s esteemed & often sweet—but sometimes bitchy & cruel—mother, of course.  Think Joan Crawford in dominatrix gear…but wearing an apron & with a wooden spoon in her hand.  (To bake with, I swear!  Madame Mommy Dearest does not batter small children.  Or at least not small children who aren’t biologically hers.)

The Kittehs — My furry little darlings, as a whole.  I will sometimes mention them by name…you know, when one of them does something exceptionally cute & blog-worthy…but more often refer to them en mass…or as the ravening hoarde they can sometimes be.

Darling Dwayne — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson…also known as my reason for living.  (Aside from “The Kittehs,” of course. :tpspspspt )  He is mine.  And while you may look—really, if you didn’t, I’d know it was time to call the undertaker, because you would obviously be dead as a doornail—but don’t even think about drooling on him or trying to claim him for your own.  Because I’ll cut you, I really will. :devil

Agent Extraordinaire (a.k.a. “Batman”—because any time I flash the Bat Signal, he comes running to my rescue, just like the Caped Crusader he is!) — This would be the wildly wonderful Richard Curtis, who is, in fact, an agent extraordinaire.  But more to the point, he’s my agent extraordinaire.  (And, no, you can’t have him.)

The following three designations refer to the editors I’m currently writing for.  And I mean absolutely no disrespect in gifting them with such such generic nicknames.  But if you look at it from my point of view, you’ll realize juggling three different publishers can get a little dicey.  It’s also much simpler sometimes to mention them this way than to go into detail…especially since you don’t need to keep them straight, only I do. :notworthy

Editor A — This is Rose Hilliard, crackerjack Editor at St. Martin’s Press, & my editor for the “Chicks with Sticks” trilogy.  (As well as many more humorous contemporaries in the future, I hope! :thumbsup )  She also gets top billing because, of my three current editors, she was the first I started working with.

Editor B — This is John Scognamiglio, Senior Editor & Executive Director at Kensington Books, & my editor for the hot & sexy vampire romances I’m doing for Brava.  We actually have a bit of history together; I met him years ago when I was first writing western historicals, & though he didn’t buy them, he had some lovely things to say about my writing.  (He even remembers them to this day, which boggles my mind, frankly. :faint )  It’s so cool that we’re getting to work together now, & I can honestly say he’s terrific.

Editor C — Although I was technically writing for Harlequin/Silhouette before my other two publishers, I think you’ll quickly understand why I saved this moniker for last.  Editor C is Charles Griemsman, Associate Editor & my editor at Desire.  (Get it?  Editor C…Charles…  That’s the one I know I won’t have trouble remembering. *g*)  Charles only started editing for the Desire line about a year ago, but I can already tell you he’s been a dream to work with.  And though the Desire stories themselves aren’t funny, this man is.  We share a similar sense of humor, which makes for a great author/editor relationship & some very amusing conversations. :beerlaugh

So did I miss anything, do you think?  Let me know & I’ll add it to the list!

P.S. Just a friendly neighborhood reminder that Joss Ware will be in The Dungeon tomorrow for the relaunch of our guest author guest blogs!  So mark your calendars & do not forget to drop in for a fun chat & the chance to win an autographed book! :cantputdown

“Add to your joy by counting your blessings.” ~unknown

Happy Sunday, everyone!

I don’t know about you, but it’s cold here in the dank, dark Dungeon.  It makes me really, really wish I were in Las Vegas right now with the characters of my October Brava release, MUST LOVE VAMPIRES.  I mean, while they’re all warm & toasty in the desert—not to mention getting some of that good lovin’ :winkwink —I’m sitting here shivering.

But the winter weather does make me grateful that I have a solid roof over my head, & nice, thick clothes to keep me warm.  Item #1 for the Happy Sunday gratitude list. :gotcha

And speaking of MUST LOVE VAMPIRES, I am thrilled to be able to say that the book is really & truly finished.  Got done with my proofing & polishing late Thursday night, did a little tweaking on Friday morning (adding those fun chapter titles that I enjoy so much), & then sent it off to the agent & editor that afternoon.  Whew, what a relief.  And I’m really happy with how the story turned out, so now I can’t wait for it to come out & find out what you guys think! :dracuulla

I’m also thankful for two very nice little surprises I got this week…

First, when I picked up an order of cat food, part of it was the kind the kittehs really like, but which I haven’t been able to get for quite a while.  They kept telling me it might be available again in February, so I’ve been rationing the small amount I still have on hand, trying to make it last as long as possible.  But there it was, a whole case of the good stuff, completely unexpected & out of the blue.  The kittehs & I are sooooo happy. :kitty

Second, I got a bill in the mail that made my stomach churn even before I opened it.  One of those biggies you’ve gotta pay, but really don’t want to, & I knew it was going to be ugly.  But guess what—it wasn’t!  Turned out it was only an invoice, & that I still have credit from what I paid previously.  Wootie-toot-toot!  Definitely something deserving of a happy dance. :dancing

My RITA books finally arrived, so I can get start reading those soon.  Yay!

And last but not least, I’m excited that we’re starting up our guest blog feature again.  Our first guest author will be Joss Ware on Tuesday, January 25th, so make a note now & be sure to drop in for her visit.  And, yes, there will be a giveaway included. :eeee

That’s some pretty awesome stuff to be happy about this week.  So how about you—what’s on your gratitude list?

This week’s Free Book Friday giveaway was a really fun one, & as promised, we’ve got not just one, but ten winners to announce.

Each of the following WIPs and Chains bloggers will receive a sheet of Animal Rescue “Adopt a Shelter Pet” stamps…

Dee (claimed)

Lulu (claimed)

Hollie (claimed)

Donna (claimed)

Jackie

Desere

Beatrice (claimed)

Anne (claimed)

Virginia C. (claimed)

Crystal GB

Congratulations. ladies! :congrats Please contact me with your full names & mailing addresses, & I will get your wonderful Animal Rescue stamps out to you as soon as I can.