Remember last month when I announced that writer-bud Misty and I were offering up a Reader Stimulus plan? Well! We have the official results!

Over 60 of you voted – thank you very much!

For the Heroine’s name:
Kara – 31 votes – WINNER!
CJ – 17 votes
Nikki – 14 votes

For the Hero’s name:
Blake – 35 votes – WINNER!
Zander – 13 votes
Finn – 14 votes

For the name of the story:
Secret Weapons – 36 votes – WINNER!
Weapons of Mass Destruction – 6 votes
For Love or Country – 11 votes
All’s Fair in Love and War – 9 votes

I even made cover art. Isn’t that cool? I think it’s cool.

And now for the other news. We promised you some goods if you entered. The winner of Misty’s I’d Rather Be In Paris is Joann Hali. The winner of my book, Take Me I’m Yours, is Nancy Haddock! Congrats, ladies!

The first issue of Secret Weapons went out in my newsletter in the wee hours of the morning. If you’re not on the mailing list, and you want to be just email me or enter your email address under the “Subscribe” section of the sidebar on the blog or my home page. That will sign you up automatically.

Ready for a taste of summer? We’ve got it for you! I’ve teamed up with fellow Cobblestone author, Selena Blake, plus lots others to offer you one awesome contest. Have a looksee through the awesome prizes, take note of the authors and their books and be prepared to win. To enter, just click HERE.

Here’s a little sample of the hottest books for this summer.

Amy Redwood

www.amyredwood.com

A copy of Amy’s latest release from Cobblestone, Diamonds and Kisses, erotic suspense novel in PDF format

Anne Kane

www.AnneKane.literalseduction.net

A PDF copy of Stargazers 1: Wanton

Bonnie Rose Leigh

www.mybonnierose.com

An autographed copy of the Sex Me: Triad Series in print as well as an autographed poster of the book cover as a prize

Cassandra Gold

www.cassandragold.com

An autographed copy of Fantasies: Thanksgiving (or a $10 Amazon GC for overseas winners)

Celia Kyle

celiakyle.com

A copy of the anthology, Furry, Fluffy & Wild

Cora Zane

www.corazane.com

A goodie basket filled with bath soak, scrubbie, lotion, and shower gel, along with a flair bag of author book cards/ book marks / tea and candy to the winner. A complete summer relaxation basket.

Eliza Gayle

www.elizagayle.net

A download copy of her shapeshifter book, Lucas

Ericka Scott

www.erickascott.com

A printed edition (signed) of The Werewolf Whisperer (which includes the bonus book, Unleashed)

Jamison Wolf

www.jamiesonwolf.com

An eBook copy of The Written Word Books One, Two and Three

J. Hali Steele

www.jhalisteele.com

A kelly green “Are You Kind?” T-Shirt /Back has www.sovereignkind.com

Kris Eton

www.kriseton.com

A copy of Ice Black, the first in the Arctic Heat series of books

Loribelle Hunt

www.loribellehunt.com

A copy of Claiming the Moon: Lunar Mated Book 7 (ebook), Lunar Mates (signed print edition)

Madison Layle & Anna Leigh Keaton

www.annaleighkeaton.com

A PDF copy of Healing Touch from Anna Leigh

Michelle Miles

www.michellemiles.net

A copy of Take Me I’m Yours

Moira Rogers

www.moirarogers.com

A copy of Kamikaze and a copy of Wild Card to another lucky winner

Morgan Sierra

www.morgansierra.com

A copy of Dirty Little Secret

Selena Blake

www.selena-blake.com

A copy of The Wine Tasting

Tara Nichols

www.tarasnichols.com

A copy of Through the Woodwork, Tara’s latest erotic novella through Bookstrand publishing

Yolanda Sfetsos

www.yolandasfetsos.com

A copy of Valentine’s Beast or Passionate Eve – winner’s choice and preferred format

An Irish Blessing to get your day started:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Hope everyone has a fantastic St. Pat’s Day with lots ‘o green beer.

As for me… I’m looking forward to walking out the door at 5 pm from the office and then spending the next three days on vacation. WAHOO!

I…sort of took the night off last night. Instead of writing like a good girl, I downloaded music from Amazon. I got Finger Eleven’s Paralyze and Shinedown’s Second Chance. I *love* those two songs. They are rocking. I’ve discovered I could very quickly get addicted to downloading MP3s. I have SO got to get me an iPod Nano!

I also tinkered with my YouTube videos. I updated Talk Dirty To Me with some new music (one of the above mentioned songs) and reposted it. I like it lost better now. I tend to … tinker. Way too much.

Sometimes it sucks being a Gemini because I feel myself going in about 230498209 different directions. I’ve said before I’m like a ferret on crack. I have about a million and one things going on all at once. I am the Queen Of Multi-tasking. But I’ve decided that it’s time to focus and delegate. Otherwise, I’m going to end up doing everything BUT writing. So I’m reorganizing my life. Oof. It’s hard. I guess the light bulb went off when Man pointed out I really didn’t need to fill every second of every day. I know, I know! But I can’t help it. I’m a Doer.

The first round of Phoenix is off to the CPs. Be brutal. I need it. Oh, and a I visited with a friend for a bit last night and talked non-stop (sorry about that). It’s that Gemini thing again. Anyway, she mentioned some really cool shows on The History Channel about Roman gladiators. I MUST find them on DVD so I can watch and be a spong. She was telling me about some cool stuff on the shows. I’m thinking I could write them off as research. What do you think?

Okay, seriously, it’s time for me to get to work. Eight more hours and then I’m DONE for the week. YAHOO!

Okay I spaced and forgot I was doing this today. Well, I didn’t really forget, I just misplaced the reminder in my head that I was doing this today. LOL

ANYWAY… I’m doing an interview over at Book Talk and giving away books. Come on over! Click here.

Behold!

Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

P.S. The kiddo says, “MOM! This is just like Two Face!”

Yes, sweetie. It is. I totally scored Cool Mom Points. GO ME!

Yesterday, I was trying to figure out what my NaNo project was going to be. I was perusing my documents to see what I had that I could work on from scratch…and then it hit me! I ran across my three page synopsis of what I’m calling the Rome book. That’s what I’m going to do! I’m very excited about it and I can’t wait to get it started. And the great thing is I’ve really already fleshed out the story via the synopsis.

Tonight I’m going to work on my scene cards and start putting pieces together.

And now… Lara did this on her blog last week, so I decided to give it a try. I couldn’t stop laughing! You, too, can Yearbook Yourself by clicking here.

This is the original picture I used:

And here I am in 1952:

1960:

(I totally look like my mom in this one! hehe)

1966:

1968:

1974:

(I look like my sisters here! haha)

1990:

And that’s it! I couldn’t get any of the 1980s ones to look right, sadly. I had so much fun doing this and it totally cracked me up. NOW. I challenge YOU – go Yearbook Yourself.

Unlike the previous two books, I took my time with Faefever. I didn’t devour it in one sitting as I did Darkfever and Bloodfever. I wanted to savor it because I knew it’d be a long time before I got the fourth.

The book starts off slow and annoyed me a little with the “what’s happened until now” stuff. But I understood that was necessary for folks just tuning into the series (which is nuts – you simply have to read them in order!). Throughout most of the book, Mac is on her own and really – isn’t this her story anyway? I did like the interaction she had with Christian and really wanted to see more of that. I loved that Moning wove the MacKeltar’s into this story as well. I also loved the birthday cake scene with Barrons and Mac. And yes, like other fans, I keep waiting for them to “get together.”

I think Mac’s character has developed really well and Moning does it with a fine hand. She continues to show us the Mac we knew at the beginning of Darkfever is indeed gone and probably lost forever to the Mac we know at the end of Faefever.

This is NOT a traditional romance, by any means, and you have to go into the series knowing that right up front. It’s dark urban fantasy at its finest. As a writer, it takes a lot of guts to tell the story the way you want and not bow to convention. I LOVE that Moning does just this with her characters, with the quasi-romance between Barrons (who, incidentally, is smoke) and Mac, with the flirtation with V’Lane, and even the controversial ending. I applaud her for continuing to be true to her story and her characters and willing to tick off fans with the ending. Sure, I’m ticked off–not becuase of what happened to Mac, but because we’re left in such a cliff-hanger.

If you’re thinking of reading this book, start at the beginning with Darkfever and then Bloodfever. This is a series and NOT stand-alone books. The character development continues with this book, as well as the relationship development. (I would like to see Mac end up with Barrons, but I’m thinking that may not happen…)

I will be salivating to get my hands on Dreamfever next year. Write fast, KMM. Write fast.

There’s this really cool book called Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Famous & Obscure Writers. It’s quotes from people who tell their life story in six words. Only six words. Hemingway’s was probaby the most famous:

For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn

So powerful – those six little words. So sad, too.

Recently, my boss brought this cool book to my attention and I got to thinking about what my six words would be. My life in six words? Hm.

I came up with:

Writes books, loves shoes, drinks coffee.

Kinda weak, I admit. But it was all I could come up with on the fly.

So now I’m going to tag YOU. What would your six words be to describe your life? Post them here. I’ll draw a name at the end of the day and the winner will get a free download of TALK DIRTY TO ME or NICE GIRLS DO. I’m feeling like I need a contest today.

Gimme your best six words.

I took these pictures – covertly of course! – today at my local Barnes & Noble. I couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear. I’m such a nerd. Hint: Click the images to see a larger version.

Here I am on the shelf between Linda Lael Miller and Karen Marie Moning. Hm. Methinks I might need a middle name…

WOOHOO! Shelved in New Romance! Sorry – it’s a tad blurry. Darn cell phone camera…

And the piece de resistance… on an end cap! WITH MY NAME over head. *Mik jumps up and down with glee*

And for those on the flipside: Would You Have Been a Good Husband in the 1930s?

Well I ended up going to the BBQ AND hanging out with Man on Friday. It was a nice day.

Man came over at about 10:30 that morning. We went to lunch at On The Border and then did a little light shopping. We didn’t buy anything. It was just one of ther excursions where you’re killing time and looking at stuff. We went to Rooms To Go and checked out furniture. Plus it gave me a chance to look at kid’s furniture. I found a really cool bed for my kiddo there. Of course, they’re kind of expensive, but it’s something he can use until he’s old.

We split up about 5 so he could go to work and I could go to the BBQ. I made my 4th of July dessert – it’s a trifle with red and blue jell-o, cool whip, poundcake and strawberries. Very yummy. I stuffed myself again with hamburgers and yummy potato salad.

Met back up with Man at 8 pm and went to watch fireworks. He gave me this mocha energy drink which of course made me wide awake until 1 am. hehe We got up Saturday morning and did yard work. It was so domestic.

We went our separate ways that afternoon. My kiddo came home and we hung out all afternoon watching movies. I was exhausted and ended up napping on the couch while he watched Night at the Museum. After a while, we headed to Lowe’s and I did some pricing on materials for my bathrooms.

Sunday was church day and then I headed to my mom’s for dinner. We got home about 8:30, once again stuffed to the gills. There’s nothing like having dinner at Mom’s.

I have training class all day today and tomorrow. I’m learning Flash, so it should be good.

No writing this weekend. I was a bad girl. But I plan to get back to it tonight!

I feel like I’ve run my legs off this week! Oh well, at least it’s exercise. Right? I can feel my calf muscles getting stronger…

Had to get gas yesterday morning and it was very painful at the pump. What else is new? Then stopped at Chick-Fil-A for breakfast for the kiddo. They were giving out free breakfast burritos! Cool! I got a free breakfast but it gave me horrendous indigestion. Figures.

Took him to Vacation Bible School and then went to work. Left at 12:30 to pick him up, take him to grandparents and then go to my own dental appointment. Got back to pick him up at nearly 5 pm, came home, good dinner, cleaned dishes, chatted on phone. Looked for the big moon the weather lady swore would be up but never saw it. Put the kiddo to bed. Crashed. That was my evening in a nutshell.

Over the last few days, I’ve realized what my new pattern is with writing. I write late into the night for 2-3 days and then take a day off (to catch up on sleep I would imagine hehe). It’s working so far and I’ve got lots of writing done lately. I’m absolutely thrilled with myself. Now…if I can keep it up.

My best friend/sis-in-law and brother are in Vegas on vacation this week. She tells me the hotel they’re staying in has a Manolo Blahnik store inside it. I am so envious. I have ordered her to pat all the shoes, tell them I love them, and take LOTS of pictures for me. She sent me a text today with a picture of one VERY lovely Manolo. I swooned. She also told me she went to the Fendi store and picked out a new bag for the low-low price of $2000. My brother said no. HEHE

Next week I have two appointments, one on Monday and one on Wednesday. I’ve signed myself up for a Flash class in July as well as another seminar-type thing. One the one hand, I love being busy. On the other, I don’t like not having time to breathe. But hey- it keeps things interesting!

Okay, that’s it for me. It’s time to start up the Mom-Mobile!

Take the Quiz here!

What a game that was! I watched the first three periods and most of the first overtime, but dozed off during the second and third. By the time the fourth started, I was awake and watching. When the Stars went on the power play, I knew that was it. They had to win with that goal. It seems right and fitting it was Brenden Morrow who made the game winner, especially after being denied two goals in San Jose on Game 5. So the game ended at about 1:30 and I watched a few of the highlights before heading to bed.

Morning came fast, too. BLAH!

I had a great weekend. Man and I went to Scarborough Faire on Saturday and walked around all day. I got new rings and a really cool castle drawing. Oh yeah and a skirt and a chain mail belt that rocks. We had a great time and I was loathe for the fun to end.

Sunday was laid back. Did laundry and went to the grocery store. The kiddo came back to me after 6 and we had a nice evening together. Went fast though.

Tonight he has his program at school. He has to be there at 6:15. The school year is starting to wind down and there are going to be lots of activities between now and the last day of school. Can’t believe how fast it’s gone!

Okay that’s it for me. Gotta get to work and take the baby boy to school.