Site Meter Vamps and Scamps: April 2007

Sunday, April 29, 2007

New Release this week... Always Yours


For those who read it when it was at Triskelion, this version hasbeen revised a lot, expanded some. Basically, I cleaned the book up.


For those who read it when it was at Triskelion, this version has
been revised a lot, expanded some. Basically, I cleaned the book up.



Dylan was having sweet dreams.


Very sweet dreams.


There had been one time…only once, but it had been close enough for
him to pretend there was something in Kris's eyes beside aloofness.


And now…he was dreaming of that time, at a picnic, Labor Day weekend,
at Nikki's cabin, when it started pouring down rain and they were
caught under the trees by the lake, waiting for the rain to let up.


Either that or make a dash for it.


Her eyes had met his and lingered…just for a minute, before drifting
down to his chest, wet from the rain, and he had been studying the
front of her T-shirt. "I didn't know rich girls wore T-shirts," he
drawled.


"Well, I gave the maid a few days off and I haven't done laundry,
slick," she said, lifting a brow at him before returning her gaze
back to the rain and sighing, a movement that made that miraculous
chest rise and fall, drawing his attention to her hard, pebbled
little nipples.


"Gasp…you know the `L' word?"


"Bite me," she said, rolling her eyes.


He surprised her when he crossed the grass and asked softly, "Can I?
Where?"


Her lids flickered and he watched as her tongue slid out, wetting her
lips. "It's a saying, babe. You know, a sarcastic one, basically
telling you to—"


The rest of her words were muffled against his mouth as he lowered
his head and pressed his lips against her petal soft mouth, very
curious to see how she would taste. Damn, he'd been dying for a
taste for years. And the heat and the sun and a couple of beers,
watching her all day was enough to weaken his resolve.


And that was where the dream differed from reality. In his bed,
Dylan rolled onto his back, his hand resting on his belly, while in
his dream, his hands came in framed her face, holding her still. In
reality, her lips had parted under his for a second, one sweet, brief
second…and then the moment had been ruined as thunder cracked and the
wind started to whip around them.


But in his dream…he backed her up against the tree and he never even
questioned how it somehow became a bed. Or how her jean shorts and
damp shirt were replaced by black silk. Clichéd, maybe, but there
was something about a long, slim woman wearing black silk.


Just as he was peeling the black silk off of her…her lips parted—
ringing erupted from them.


His eyes flew open on a vicious curse and Dylan jackknifed out of
bed, wide-awake and hornier than hell. He grabbed the pager and
stared at the unknown number. Unknown, no emergency code, so he
tossed the pager down and rolled over, going back to sleep.


And it had actually been a sweet dream, almost—it almost felt real.
One day, he'd love to have that kiss followed by something more than
his dreams.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Just a reminder about winning...

prizes here.

you have to email me...if you don't email me, you can't claim your prize. Hint hint...

shilohwalker@gmail.com

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

And we have winners....

Thanks to everybody who came and played yesterday!

Lynn graciously offered three prizes~she's giving away three sets of the Darkyn series, signed. I've drawn the winners and it looks like one or two of the names are new to her books (goodie, more converts). Congrats to the winners and I hope you enjoy!

The winners are....

Lisa F. who said...

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I have not read your books.

Stacy who said...

Not to give her any more credit *g* but I "discovered" you because of Shi

and last but not least...

Lis who said...

Enjoyed the interview. What's the most gratifying thing about writing for you?

Ladies, if you can email me, (shilohwalker@gmail.com) I'll get you in touch with Lynn about your prize. Thanks again to everybody who dropped by. Some excellent questions and thanks to Lynn for doing the interview and hanging out with us!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Author Interview.... Lynn Viehl


Just so you all know, Lynn Viehl/PBW is going to try to stop by the blog today, so if you have questions, shout them out. I do believe the word contest was even mentioned. So if you all stay quiet, maybe I can get the prize... *G* Okay, okay. Ask away, I'll make the sacrafice and not try to steal the prize.
Going to be hard though.


For those who don't know, I'm a total PBW junkie, whether it's her blog, the Stardoc books that she writes under her pen name SL Viehl or the Darkyn vampires she writes as Lynn Viehl or the romantic suspenses of Jessica Hall or Gena Hale. So not be able to win one of the prizes she's giving away is going to be so hard on me. Sniff.



Onto the interview.... ;o) As always, readers from the Scamps and Vamps yahoo list sent in the questions and I picked out the most interesting. If you have other questions, feel free to ask! Contest winners are selected from those participating in the discussions...



V&S: Is there any story that you wish you hadn’t written? Is there any story that someone else wrote that you wish you’d thought of first?



Lynn Viehl: I’ve learned something from every story I’ve written, even the ones that are so lame they need crutches, so I’m pretty happy with my inventory. I wish I’d written the Bible; just imagine the royalties.



V&S: In your stardoc series which shiloh turned me on to btw what is your most unusual alien? Describe it to everyone just in case they've not read this fabulous series.



Lynn Viehl: I think the most unusual aliens from the StarDoc novels are the Jxin. They were humanoid shape-shifters who evolved into energy-based lifeforms. At this point in StarDoc’s timeline, the Jxin no longer exist in corporeal form or occupy reality. The Jxin can still communicate through the cerebral subliminal implants they left behind in Cherijo and certain other individuals from species they helped found. Maggie, Cherijo’s surrogate mother, was a Jxin.



V&S: What first made you blog? Why have you continued to do it for so many years?



Lynn Viehl: I’ve been keeping handwritten daily journals since 1974, and blogging immediately appealed to me as a way to cope with the growing handicaps brought on by my arthritis (I have to use voice recognition software to write now.) I’ve also been teaching writing to children in public schools for many years, and I thought I might be able to do something similar for writers of all ages via the Internet. I’m able to give something back to the writing community by blogging, which is the main reason I think I keep doing it – to pay it forward.



V&S: What is one thing that your readers would be surprised to hear about you?



Lynn Viehl: Actor Johnny Depp and I grew up about four blocks away from each other in south Florida, and we went to the same high school. I eventually married his next door neighbor’s brother. You should have seen my face the first time I watched 21 Jump Street.



V&S: Who are your fave Sci - fi Authors and have you met any of them?



Lynn Viehl: A.M. Lightner, who wrote YA science fiction back in the sixties and seventies. She passed away quite a few years ago, so I never had the privilege to meet her.



V&S: If you where given the chance would you travel into SPACE?


Lynn Viehl: Only if NASA didn’t build, launch or guide the vehicle involved.



V&S: Where do you get your ideas from?



Lynn Viehl: There’s a great little writing idea shop in town . . . I’m kidding. All sorts of things inspire me: music, art, life, history, dreams, nature and general curiosity about all of it.



V&S: How difficult is it for you to write Sci- fi books?



Lynn Viehl: SF is probably the easiest genre for me to write in because my stories take place in a universe of my own creation. I’m able to build almost everything in the novels from scratch. That gives me a huge amount of creative freedom, which is wonderful.

Thanks so much for doing the interview, Lynn. If anybody has any questions or comments... now's the time!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Interview with Lynn Viehl will be Tuesday!

April 24th. I'll be posting the answers to the questions that readers in the group asked. Also, Lynn Viehl will be dropping in to answer questions and as I mentioned before, she's going to have contests. ;o) We like contests, right?

Well, I'd like them more if I could win them.

Ah well. Make sure you drop by!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Interview with Lynn Viehl coming up!


Folks, I'm trying really hard not to do a fan-girl squee here. I don't do fan-girl, and I certainly don't squee. However, there are two authors who could bring me to such actions...and one of them is Lynn Viehl. Oh, what's the point... let's get it over with.... SSSSQQQUUUUUEEEEE!!! There. It's out of my system. I'm better now.



Ahem. As I was saying, one of the authors is Lynn Viehl, aka SL Viehl, aka PBW. I've only mentioned PBW on the blog in, oh say.... ten, maybe twenty, no more than thirty posts, I promise. SQE--oops. Sorry. I can't help it. I just love her books.



Again...as I was saying, I've mentioned her here before and I finally decided to ask if she'd do an interview. She said Yes. (Color me happy, here) Annnnndddd.... she's doing contests. We'll be doing it one day next week so for those who aren't hitting RT, don't worry. There's going to be something going on here, cuz I'm not going. It's hard to juggle a weeklong trip when you have an infant and two young kids. Too expensive for all of us, and I won't leave my family for that long.



Then there was also the issue of I didn't know if I'd meet my deadline. (I did, yes! Hey, I think I deserve a prize for not just meeting, but beating the deadline) Stop laughing. Those of you who know me know that there's little I won't use to try and weasle my way into getting books early.



I'll post ahead of time when we'll be doing the interview, but it will be next week. For paranormal and romance readers, she's got an excellent vampire series, the Darkyn books. Sci fi readers, (and yes, romance readers would love it too) she has the Stardoc books. And for aspiring authors, she's got excellent advice.



Congrats to PBW, by the way. (and me, cuz I get more books) She just sold two more Stardoc books. Making me, okay, so she didn't write them for me, but still... making me and others very very happy.

Sunday, April 15, 2007



Books into Movies...

I love movies but am usually disappointed when they make a movie from a book. I get that they can’t include everything in the move but sometimes they do such a horrid job. Who did they get to do the screen adaptation??

One of my favorite books is French Silk by Sandra Brown. Love, love, love that book. Then they made a TV show from it and it was just plain horrid! The fact that they let Susan Luci play the lead was the first mistake. Then they way over-simplified the plot and completely ruined the book. Never mind the sex scenes that seemed to be thrown in as an after-thought.

I know several of Nora’s book are on cable TV and everyone seems to be happy with the job done there and there are some books that are actually better movies as books. IMO, Hunt for Red October was such a movie as was The Client and The Firm. It think Clancy wrote those with his eye on getting them made into a movie. Smart guy!

So, the question is, is there a fav book you’d like to see into a move? Any suggestions on who’d play the hero or heroine? I’d love to have my O’Fallon series as a move, and not just because of the money but I love the Mississippi River setting and the mystery. I’m sure this will never happen but I can dream, can’t I. J

Hugs, Dianne

Monday, April 09, 2007

(Insert musical score from White Christmas) Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow!


Well, curiouser and curiouser... after a tantalizing taste of Spring, we here in the south were plunged back into an unexpected bit of winter. It was snowing when we went to bed Friday night... woke up to a decent dusting. I scooted outside to take a few pictures before we loaded up the car and headed south for some family time during Easter weekend. Went on a very COLD egg hunt that afternoon. Had a nice day Sunday with church, lunch, and watching the little ones play with their Easter basket stuff.

I seem to be living with my suitcase packed these days. Got back from NYC Tuesday night the 3rd, slept in my own bed for four nights and then gone again. Which makes it hard to get any work done, that's for sure. I had copy edits on one book and revisions on another book waiting on me when I returned from the trip to the Big Apple.

New York was wonderful as always. We were there before the "big chill", so we had cool days, but not cold ones. And plenty of sunshine.

Anybody have big travel plans for this summer? I will have been gone so much for the first half of the year that except for Lori's thing in June, my summer actually looks pretty calm. I'm still debating going to RWA in Dallas, but leaning toward no.

So how about the rest of you? Any cruises, car trips, flights to exotic places??? Spill the details!

Janice Maynard

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Interview with Alison Kent


Today's interview is with Alison Kent and as always, the questions were ones I collected from readers.

V&S: What type of research did you have to do for your SG-5 series?

AK: That would depend on each book. For The Bane Affair, I did a lot of research into upstate New York, and had a reader tell me that she lived in the area and felt as if she was reading about her home turf. That was nice. I did the same for The Samms Agenda, learning about the Everglades and Miami.

For The Perfect Stranger, I had to figure helicopter speed, helicopter make/model, and flight time between the northern coast of South America to the U.S. I had maps of Mexico spread out while writing The McKenzie Artifact, and the same for West Texas when writing Larger Than Life. For LTL, I also read a lot about Warren Jeffs and his polygamous followers.

I also research weapons, and am lucky enough to have a source for computer information in both my husband and stepson. Sometimes it can be something as small as the abacus I put into the hands of the villain in The Bane Affair who also suffered from a disease I based on ALS. Once the research is done, I don’t mind taking literary license to fit the story!


V&S: Regarding the SG-5 series, are you sad to see the end of those Hunky guys? Are you going to do another similar series?

AK: I have 3 more books contracted with Brava, and 2 of those will be SG-5 related featuring Simon Baptiste and Finn McClain who both appeared in Deep Breath. After those two, I’m not sure if I’ll do a story for Gideon Martel (another operative who got screen time in Beyond a Shadow and was mentioned briefly in The Samms Agenda), or if I’ll do something new. I’ll figure that out (with the help of my editor) later this year!


V&S: As an avid (rabid?) fan, I'm wondering what role, if any, do your readers play in your writing? Do they motivate you? Drive you crazy? Do you remember comments they make about particular books and/or characters that inspire the molding or development of future books/characters?

AK: I love hearing from fans, but I can’t say I’ve changed anything or molded anything based on reader feedback. I did ask readers if they’d like to read about Finn or Simon next, but then since Simon’s story came to me first, I had to honor the muse! Still, I listen to all of the comments readers make, and probably at some subliminal level do stress the parts of the stories they’ve told me they like, and maybe back off on others!


V&S: What makes a scene sexy?

AK: The unknown. The tension. The waiting. I’ve read a couple of things lately that have just knocked my socks off and given me that bottom-dropped-out-of-the-stomach sensation. Love that!


V&S: What was the inspiration for the SG-5 series?

AK: Oh, the TV show Alias, totally! Fun adventure that’s so far out there it requires a huge suspension of disbelief. But that’s what’s so much fun, making it all about the characters even when the situations might seem implausible. My adventures are pure fantasy just as are vampires and werewolves!

V&S: What are you reading right now?

AK: I’m reading a Silhouette Desire by new author Tessa Radley. I’ll probably grab Holly Black’s Tithe next, then maybe Tami Hoag’s The Alibi Man. I read all over the place!

Thank you, Alison! Guys, Alison is going to drop by the blog at some point on Thursday, so if you have questions of your own...have at it!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Interview with Alison Kent coming up!

On thursday!

www.alisonkent.com

We'll be posting questions selected by readers from the ScampsVampsandSpicyRomance loop and Alison will also drop by and maybe answer some questions from the blogger.

:o) Hope to see you.

Shi
www.shilohwalker.com

What was I thinking????

Stop the world and let me off!!!! It's spinning around and around and I'm getting dizzy! LOL Have you ever been so busy that you met yourself going around a corner? It feels like that sometimes.

But it's been such a fun month! And it's barely started!!! I love when I have a new book coming out.

I'm chatting at Romance By The Blog tomorrow ( http://www.romancebytheblog.blogspot.com/ ). If you have time, stop by and say hi. Then tomorrow night I'm chatting at Fallen Angels at 8pm central http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/ and Thursday the vamps and scamps will be at Writer Space chatting. I don't have the URL for that.

I broke down and went to the eye doctor. Never , ever pick out frames after the exam. My pupils were dilated to 10 times their normal size. I had to rely on Karl and the young girl to tell me they looked great. What was I thinking???? I mean really, Karl will go to town wearing paint splattered jeans and his favorite shirt used to read: If I throw a stick will you go away? It's so old the letters are faded. When I mention this fact, he sniffs and tells me it smells okay. Sheesh!

I'm almost afraid to go pick up my glasses when they come in.

So, have you ever asked your husband/boyfriend for advice and then realized it wasn't the wisest thing to do? LOL I can't wait to read your answers!
Karen Kelley
Available Now!!! Close Encounters of the Sexy Kind/Brava
Romantic Times 4 1/2 Stars Top Pick!
www.authorkarenkelley.com

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Very Strange Places...



for a love scene.

In all the books I’ve written I can count on one hand the love scenes done in a bed. It’s not that I don’t like bedroom love scenes but they are usually planned events and my h and h are usually in an I-got-to-have-you-now situation. So, they never quite make it to bed. J

But sometimes they are in really unlikely situations and want to get it on and the question I have is, when can they and when is it out of the question?

I read a book once where they did the deed on horseback. Wow, not that’s talent! And I hear of that mile-high club and wonder how two people can ever fit in that little bathroom. And I don’t know about you but I can barely fit in an airplane seat much less get someone else in there with me. Then there’s the privacy issue. Most planes are a circus. Except now with no food they’re a hungry circus.

I had the h and h do the horizontal hula with her on a newel post, in a pilot house of a tugboat, the woods, hayloft, boathouse and the most unusual a rowboat. That was fun!

So, in the books you’ve read where are some of the most unusual places for love scenes? And are there any scenes that you thought…there is no flipping way they can do it there!

Have a great Sunday!
Hugs, Dianne