Friday, December 16th, 2011 | Book Review Friday, Contests, Holiday's | No Comments

Friday’s are usually dedicated to a review of books I’ve read recently, but today or, this weekend, I’m participating in a Christmas blog-hop with a ton of other writers. So, you’ll get my reviews, plus the information about the blog-hop AND a contest!

Today’s two books are both by Julia Quinn, one of my favorite authors, who writes regency historical fiction. Now, let me say first that these two books are the conclusion of a series of books she wrote about a family of siblings. So, if you want to read the books in order, and get the “history” of the characters first (even though each book is a stand-alone), you’ll have to read the other six books. But, I can attest to the fact that the entire series is wonderful, so it wouldn’t hurt you to go back and read the other books too. However again, I’m just going to talk about the two I just finished reading a week or so ago.

These two books end the Bridgerton Series about 8 siblings and these two are about the youngest of the bunch, It’s In His Kiss is Hyacinth’s story and On The Way To The Wedding is Gregory’s story.

Hyacinth is my kind of regency lady. She falls in love with an alpha hero, but it doesn’t stop her from being her own woman, speaking her mind and basically doing what she wants to do to win her true love. Greg’s story is a little bit different in that he “thinks” he’s fallen in love with the right woman, but you know men…they hardly get things right the first time around, so, it takes a very unique woman to win his heart and she does.

I loved both books soooo much. And imagine my surprise when after I bought them with my Kindle app…I realized that I already had them in paperback at home. Go figure! You know how you buy so many books sometimes, stuff happens and you never get around to reading them. Well, I guess that’s what happened to me. I’m not upset though! Truly. I don’t mind having them in both paperback and e-published because that’s how much I enjoyed these books and I’m a huge JQ fan anyway.  

Now…to the contest!

http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/ 

All you have to do is comment and tell me the favorite genre’s you like to read. If you’re like me, you’re all over the place. I like contemporary romance, erotic contemporary romance, paranormal, regency, young adult…like I said, all over the place. I just love a really good book and if I love it, you can bet I’m a fan of that author for life. 

Each commentor will be entered into a drawing to win a $5.00 gift certificate to Amazon and an e-copy of my Christmas story, The Secret Santa Project. This contest, as well as the Christmas blog-hop, lasts all weekend. Make sure you leave your e-mail address in the comments. I’ll announce my winner on Monday morning! Click the blog-hop link above to go to the blog-hop event page to see the other authors participating so you can visit their blogs and enter their contests as well…there are a lot of great prizes to win!

Have a great weekend!

Love, peace and sex!

Lyric

****UPDATED**** It seems I’m having technical difficulties with posting. Thank you so much to Loray for letting me know she was having trouble posting. I’m going to try to get it resolved, but until then, send an email to lyric _ james @ sbcglobal . net (no spaces) and give me your answer and you will be entered into the contest. Thanks so much for dropping by! Lyric

Tags: Stuff Your Stockings Blog Hop

Thursday, December 15th, 2011 | Thursday Thirteen | No Comments

Happy December!

Today’s Thursday 13 is dedicated to fun facts and trivia about December.

1. The name December comes from the Latin word ‘decem’ meaning 10.
2. The birthstone for December is Turquoise or the mystical Blue Topaz.
3. The flower representing this month is Holly.
4. December 3rd is Let’s Hug Day.
5. December 5th is National Blue Jeans Day.
6. In December of 1803 the Louisiana Purchase took place and France sold us a chunk of land.
7. The Charles Dickens classic story ‘A Christmas Carol’ was 1st published in December 6, 1843.
8. December 6th is the day many people celebrate the patron Catholic saint of children and pawnbrokers — St. Nicholas.
9. The 1st Nobel Prize was awarded in December 1901.
10. The first Ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution (The Bill of Rights) were ratified on December 15, 1791.
11. Here is the short list of famous people born on Christmas Day – Sir Issac Newton:1642, Clara Barton:1821, Humphrey Bogart:1899, Anwar el-Sadat:1918, Little Richard:1932, Barbara Mandrell:1948.
12. People always mistake Santa’s reindeer ‘Donder’ and call him ‘Donner’.
13. DECEMBER QUOTE – I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Peace, love and sex!

Lyric

Tags: Thursday Thirteen

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 | Sexy Eye Candy, Wicked Wednesday | No Comments

Since today is Wednesday and my favorite favorite show…Criminal Minds comes on today, today’s eye candy is dedicated to Shemar Moore! Can you say S-E-X-Y!!! Take a look! Do you need a cold glass of water…because I sure do!

Peace, love and sex!

Lyric

Tags: Eye Candy

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 | Ten Line Tuesday, Writing | No Comments

Today I’m going to give you a sneak peak at my upcoming release, Phoenix Kiss, coming soon from Ellora’s Cave! I just finished my second round of “killer” edits…and I do mean brain cell killer…for real…but I adore my editor though. The way she edits has really made me pay attention to things as I write, which I hope will make me a “cleaner” writer. So, here goes…

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With a tentative touch, she pressed her palm in the middle of his back and inched it down slowly, enjoying the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips, the muscles, the indentations. There was a thin, five-inch scar just below his right deltoid muscle that she traced with her middle finger. Other than that one mark, his skin was perfection.

Steam billowed up in the space as hot, almost boiling water, exactly the way she liked it, hit every inch of her body. The soap from his hair crept over her fingers as she began to rub her hands down the middle of his spine, moving from his upper back to his lower and stopping above the perfect ass she’d admired earlier.

After a moan, he turned around and her gaze swung up to meet his. It was intense and dark and his eyes glittered with desire as his dick rubbed over her stomach.

Layla gulped.

His eyes never left hers as he grabbed a white sponge, one of two hanging from a small clip on the wall, and began to lather it with soap. “Your turn.”

He turned her around and began to bathe her, moving down her back, over her shoulders, down her arms, never saying a word.

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What do you think? You like it? To whet your appetite more…I’ve included the cover too.

Isn’t it gorgeous! Be sure to let me know what you think about the excerpt and the cover.

Peace, love and sex!

Lyric

Tags: Coming Soon

Monday, December 12th, 2011 | Movie Monday | No Comments

Happy Monday everyone!

Do you ever watch movies over and over again and still cry or get emotional…even after you’ve seen them over and over again? Yeah…I know I just repeated myself…but still…

I’m that way with movies. It drives my husband crazy that I do it and it’s especially the movies he likes to label “chick flicks.” I think I’ve watched August Rush, The Lake House, Maid In  Manhattan, and a lot more a gazillion times and still get emotional and fall in love with the characters all over again. I guess that’s why I’m a romance writer…who knows? I’m a sucker for happily ever after!

The movie I’ve watched over and over and over again this weekend is Letters To Juliet with Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave.

I love this movie! I think I watched it 3 times this weekend on cable. It’s about a girl who goes to Italy on vacation with her fiancé and she ends up in the middle of a square watching women leave notes on this wall. What she learns is that the women who leave the letters are writing to Juliet…Romeo’s Juliet. I know…cool right! And not only do they write to Juliet, there are a group of women who actually “answer” the letters. They are the Secretaries of Juliet.  She meets these women and one day when she’s with them, finds a letter stuck behind one of the bricks and when she reads it, she’s compelled to answer the letter back. What happens next is not only one great love story but TWO great love stories. This is where Vanessa Redgrave comes in. And what I also find really cool about this story is that Vanessa’s love interest in this movie is actually her real life significant other. (I found this out after looking the movie and the actors up on IMDb. If you want to know anything about movies and movie stars…you have to download this app…it’s free…but I digress…)Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero have been together since 1967 when they met on another movie set. 1967! Cool again, right? So, if you’ve never seen this movie, you need to watch it. I guarantee you’ll love it. Amanda’s love interest in the movie, Christopher Egan is such a cutie and I love his accent!

Peace, love and sex…

Lyric!

Tags: At the Movies

Friday, November 11th, 2011 | Book Pimpage, Book Review Friday | No Comments

I must admit that I’ve done nothing but read for the last week and I’ve read these three “wonderful” books! It’s a series by Maureen Smith called the Wolf Pack. It’s about a pair of brother’s and their friends. Book 1 (Taming The Wolf) is about Marcus Wolf a civil rights attorney and Samara Layton who works for a community outreach center that needs an infusion of money to stay open. They both have mommy issues that have prevented them from falling in love. Book 2 (Recipe for Temptation) is about Michael Wolf a celebrity chef and Dr. Reese St. James an OBGYN. These two have trust issues. Reading both of these brothers’ love stories was so much fune. I laughed, I cried…AND I got hot under the…well, you know. Anyway…if you have not read Maureen Smith, run out or pull up your Kindle app quick and purchase these books. They are well worth it. Book 3 (Tempt Me at Midnight) is about Quentin and Lexi, Michael’s best friends who you meet in the previous books who also find their love story.

Ms. Smith has found a way to revolve her stories around this group of people’s lives and interweave several great sub-plots that move through all three books which I believe is awesome! I love reading about people and then catching up with them in later books. I’m pretty sure there are more books to come in the series about the other members of The Wolf Pack and I can’t wait to read them. I hope you pick one up and enjoy it too.

Peace, love and sex!

Lyric

Tags: Book Reviews

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 | Ten Line Tuesday, Work In Progress | No Comments

It’s Ten Line Tuesday! Today’s 10 lines will come from a story that I started working on this summer. I’m thinking about self-pubbing a cozy-mystery series. This is ten lines from that story…

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It’s called Snap Shot.

The people who were actually employed by the fair and didn’t rent booths to sell their own wares like she did, made about one-hundred and fifty dollars a day. Anyone who worked this carnival did it because they needed the money, not because they were looking for steady employment and certainly wouldn’t be driving a car like that.

On the ground to the right but behind the car, a woman’s purse lay on the ground. A prickle of recognition nipped at the recesses of her mind. She knew someone who had an exact replica of the same purse, just a different color. When she stopped and looked at the hair of the person in the vehicle a little bit closer, she knew who the purse must belong to. Even in the dark, from what she could tell, her shirt was white with crimson splotches in a straight line down the front.

Her head was bent forward with long curly tendrils almost hiding her face. With a gasp, Sonya braked. Her hands shook when she put the SUV in park and opened her door about ten feet away from the other car. It only took her a few seconds to move to the driver’s side door and see that the crimson splotches were not the latest in fashion design, but blood dripping from a wound in the right side of her neck.

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Hope you enjoyed it!

Peace, love and sex!

Lyric

Tags: WIP's

Monday, November 7th, 2011 | Movie Monday | No Comments

I had a glorious 4-day weekend because of “teacher” conferences and due to the fact I have all my professional development hours…I was able to stay at home and enjoy my family…even coerced the hubby to take off on Friday. Although I did get a wee-bit sick on Saturday and Sunday, I still enjoyed those few days off.

Which means of course, I indulged in some movie watching! We are a movie watching famiy at the James house! Friday, we went to see Tower Heist.

If you want “total” escapism…this is the movie for you. If you want to “laugh”…this is the movie for you. If you want to see “good prosper over evil”…this is the movie for you!! Seriously! It was soooo funny. I haven’t checked yet to see how it did at the box office, but the entire family truly enjoyed this movie! Go Eddie and Ben!!

I also caught up on a DVD that we purchased a couple of weeks ago. The hubby and I watched Crazy, Stupid, Love on Sunday.

Great movie! The part I most wanted to see was when Steve Caroll fell out of the car after his wife told him that she’d slept with someone else. That part was soooo funny! This story is about soul mates, finding true love, AND loss. Very poignant and moving. Made me want to make sure I keep the “spark” in my relationship with the hubby so we never go through what the couple in this story went through. So, if you want a great falling in and out and back in again love story…this is it! Go rent it or go buy it! It’ll be worth the $.

Peace, love and sex!

Lyric

Tags: At the Movies

Friday, November 4th, 2011 | Book Pimpage, Book Review Friday | No Comments

I LOVE this series by Cinda Williams Chima. I read the first (The Demon King) and second (The Exiled Queen) books in the series this past summer and absolutely couldn’t wait for the third and what I thought, the final book, to come out in August. I wanted it in “audio,” and was really upset that it didn’t come out simultaneously in print and audio. So, I waited until it came out last week to get it and “listen” to it. AWESOME!!!

It’s what’s considered a “high” fantasy series about a young girl named, Raisa, who is the princess heir to the Gray Wolf throne of the Fells and Han “Cuffs” Alister, a former streetlord of a gang called the Raggers.

This is the back cover blurb for The Demon King…

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When 16-year-old Han Alister and his Clan friend Dancer encounter three underage wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea, he has no idea that this event will precipitate a cascade of disasters that will threaten everything he cares about.

Han takes an amulet from one of the wizards, Micah Bayar, to prevent him from using it against them. Only later does he learn that it has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. And the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back

Han’s life is complicated enough. He’s the former streetlord of the Raggers—a street gang in the city of Fellsmarch. His street name, Cuffs, comes from the mysterious silver bracelets he’s worn all his life—cuffs that are impossible to take off.

Now Han’s working odd jobs, helping to support his family, and doing his best to leave his old life behind. Events conspire against him, however. When members of a rival gang start dying, Han naturally gets the blame.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna has her own battles to fight. As heir to the Gray Wolf throne of the Fells, she’s just spent three years of relative freedom with her father’s family at Demonai Camp—riding, hunting, and working the famous Clan markets. Now court life in Fellsmarch pinches like a pair of too-small shoes.

Wars are raging to the south, and threaten to spread into the high country. After a long period of quiet, the power of the Wizard Council is once again growing. The people of the Fells are starving and close to rebellion. Now more than ever, there’s a need for a strong queen.

But Raisa’s mother Queen Marianna is weak and distracted by the handsome Gavan Bayar, High Wizard of the Fells. Raisa feels like a cage is closing around her—and an arranged marriage and eroded inheritance is the least of it.

Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. With the help of her friend, the cadet Amon Byrne, she navigates the treacherous Gray Wolf Court, hoping she can unravel the conspiracy coalescing around her before it’s too late.

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You can read more about Cinda Williams Chima and the series by visiting her website. The last book in the series will be called The Crimson Crown and I can’t wait for it to come out next year! It’s definitely on my TBB list!

Peace, Love, and Sex!

Lyric

Tags: Books I Love

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 | Thursday Thirteen | No Comments

How about some random trivia about November?

1. November is National Tobacco Awareness Month.
2. November 1st is celebrated in many Christian churches as All Saints Day.
3. On November 5, 1935 The Parker Brothers introduced the game Monopoly to the world.
4. On November 13, 1952 the first press-on  fingernails were sold.
5. John F. Kennedy was assassinated November 1963.
6. National Children’s Book Week is celebrated every November.
7. November is one of four months that have only 30 days in it.
8. President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address in November.
9. World War I ended November 11, 1918 at 11PM.
10. The NFL was formed on November 5, 1959.
11. November is World Kindess Month.
12. The birthstone for November is Topaz.
13. Winter once began in November according to an ancient Roman calendar.

Want to know some more random facts about November, visit…. http://purpleslinky.com/trivia/random/november-trivia-weird-facts/

Peace, Love and Sex,

Lyric