by Mlissa | Dec 25, 2013 | Holidays
To those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas. To those of you who don’t, Happy Wednesday.
Wherever you are, whoever you’re with, I’d you’re working, if you’re traveling, of if you’re warm and happy at home, have a wonderful day.
There are some of us who don’t live near family and who aren’t able to travel to be with family for one reason or another, so if you’re spending time with your loved ones, give them an extra special hug.
I wish you joy and happiness this holiday season.
~lissa
by Mlissa | Nov 18, 2013 | Music
I’m breaking with tradition for a bit. See, I usually don’t start the Christmas music until the week of Thanksgiving, but I’ve started a little early. One of my favorite Christmas albums is by SheDAISY, Brand New Year. I love them, all their albums and one day they’ll have a new one, but for now, at this time of year, I wear the hell out of their Christmas one.
Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag is on the soundtrack of The Santa Clause 2 and I love it. The movie and the song… So, thought I’d share it with you.
The holidays are about love and togetherness and we don’t see our families much. My husband doesn’t get the days surrounding the holidays off very often and money is tight for every one lately. Facebook and phone calls and video chats just aren’t the same as a hug or late night conversations eating left over holiday pie. Times change and family and friends move… And while it’s my favorite time of year, it’s also at times a very lonely one when you’re missing parents, grandparents, siblings. If yours are close by, be Thankful. One of the things I love about SheDAISY is that they’re sisters and I think that’s wonderful, to be close like that.
Oh and in case you weren’t aware, and this is vitally important information, the classic television special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer is on CBS next Tuesday, before Thanksgiving. I don’t remember the last it was on in November. It’s a tradition in our house. It’s campy and sometimes ridiculous, but it’s part of my memories as a child, so, I’ll be tuned in promptly at 8pm.
Have a great week, y’all. And don’t forget my new release, The Cupcake Cowboy comes out Friday, the 22nd.
~lissa
by Mlissa | Nov 26, 2012 | Guest blogs
Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
So there I was, looking through the Victoria Secret catalog. I always look through it though the only thing I ever buy is the panties. Still, we all look because if we log enough gym time…yeah. Anyway, I’m flipping through when I come across these crocheted bikinis and dresses.
My first thought was, that won’t work. Then I looked closer. The crochet patterns were overlaid upon sheer material, kind of like lace. How clever. I thought about how clever it was all day. Someone posted on Facebook a Marilyn Monroe quote – “Sometimes things fall apart, so better things can fall together.” What a great theme for a story.
A story idea started to form when a special on the Travel Channel highlighted the best beaches in the Caribbean. I really needed to escape to the islands, and of course people would wear bikinis there. I liked the idea of Anguilla because it had a less commercial feel than many of the other islands.
The idea was still steeping, not really a story yet, when I indulged in my favorite guilty pleasure, Chelsea Lately. It’s the raunchy late night show everyone should watch. And Joe Manganiello was on. He is such a specimen, he’d inspire anyone. But the more I thought about it, the more he became a brother figure and not the match for my bikini crocheting heroine.
She needed someone less likely to trust her bohemian self. See, she’d started to come together. The red hair, the freckles, the growing up as an outsider on the island she was born on. She’d never managed to fit in, and yet her hero had ingratiated himself, creating a sense of belonging in a few years that she hadn’t found in a lifetime. And that pissed her right off.
Places and jobs and gorgeous men spark ideas, but it is the conflict that carries a story through. His life fell apart and he retreated to Anguilla to stitch it back together. Her life was finally beginning to make sense again, only to be scrambled by the secrets he holds.
It took about a month for Caribbean Christmas to find me, but I enjoyed every moment.
Jenna Bayley-Burke
Website | Twitter | Facebook
Pinterest – Caribbean Christmas
by Mlissa | Dec 11, 2010 | Uncategorized
I don’t know if it’s what was intended, but the theme for today reminds me of the Go-Go’s song, Vacation. I wasn’t a huge Go-Go’s fan, though I did like about 3 of their songs.
But today’s theme is right up my alley since I just had a book come out about this very thing. Vacation.
Now, I don’t take vacations. When I would have this year, my husband was always traveling on business. The places I would like to go and see and things I would like to do… would take more free time and available money than I had anyway, so… But, vacations are nice and the things that are becoming most popular given the economy, are Staycations. This would be fun to do and I might do it with my kids this coming year.
For the purpose of this post though, I am pulling from my new Loose Id release, Arrested Holiday.
The heroine, Holli is on vacation. Her one week a year and things don’t go so good at the beginning of it…
Snippet:
This was about as fucked a Christmas as she’d ever had. The concrete walls were like blocks of ice, and the floor wasn’t much better. The cot was hard, lumpy in a few places, and not really any warmer than the rest of her surroundings, even though Officer Hunky had brought her an extra blanket.
And he was…hunky.
Perhaps if she started thinking about him as Michael, the way he’d introduced himself a little while after he’d settled her in the cell, she wouldn’t be so frustratingly attracted to him. The more she watched him though… Nah, he was Officer Hunky. Michael might be his given name, but hunky was what fit him best in her sleep-deprived, decent food-deprived mind.
Damn, but she’d never seen a more perfect-looking man and generally speaking, perfect men didn’t appeal to her. Likewise, she didn’t appeal to them either, so it was never an issue, but this one…with his perfect white teeth, his perfect rock-hard body, his perfect dark voice, and his perfect heated gaze every time he looked at her…well hell, she couldn’t explain it.
Maybe he was just the right kind of perfect, her right kind of perfect. Maybe she was the only woman within a hundred miles and he was horny, but as she looked at him, watched him filling out what seemed to be an endless stack of paperwork, she doubted it.
His regret at having to arrest her was genuine, as was his apology that there wasn’t a decent place open for food in his little hole-in-the-wall town in the middle of Pennsylvania over the Christmas weekend. His touch had been warm and lingering, and the smile he’d fixed on her from time to time, the look he sent her way when he didn’t think she saw it…no, Officer Hunky, with his sheer, unadulterated male perfection, wanted her.
And that little bit of knowledge, however unlikely in the real world outside the police department jail, made being locked up at Christmas almost tolerable.
Almost.
“You okay?”
Holli slowly refocused. Crap. Heat flooded her cheeks. Had she been staring at him this whole time? “Yes, why?”
“You were staring.”
Was that a smile playing around his mouth? “Sorry. I was thinking.”
“About what?”
You and me, naked and rockin’ around the Christmas tree. “About how I’d like to get the hell out of here.” She glanced up at the clock on the wall. Over twenty-four hours since she’d been brought in. Her gut had told her she could make it to Harrisburg and then stop there for gas, but no, she’d had to pee and needed a snack, some caffeine, and now, well, she was in jail. Had she not been speeding down the little two-lane road trying to get back on the interstate, her license wouldn’t have been flagged on what they were finding out was a clerical error.
“I know. I’ve put in a call to the DA and explained the situation. Again. He owes me a favor, and unless he’s gone to his in-laws[JH1] [L2] , he should call me back soon.”
“You’re using your favor on me?” Dear Lord, that sounded so much dirtier than she’d intended. And judging by the smile on his face, he knew it too. Maybe when he’d frisked her earlier, she hadn’t imagined that his hands lingered a bit longer on her hips and thighs than they should have. The idea made her tingle all over. “I mean, shouldn’t you hold on to it for when you need something really big?”
“Yes, I am calling in my favor. This is something big. I’m not sure what you’d qualify as ‘really big,’ but things are kind of screwed up for you and it’s partly our fault. Our meaning the state of Pennsylvania. Over the holidays and on your vacation no less. Derek will have to get in touch with one of the judges about an idea I have for this whole fiasco, but I’d need someone to sign off on it.”
“What’s your idea?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to jinx it. Let’s just wait for the call to come in.”
She shrugged. Not like she was going anywhere. “Sure. Whatever.”
End Snippet
Don’t forget to check out the Vacation snippets from the following awesome authors:
Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
TJ Michaels
Taige Crenshaw
Eliza Gayle
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Sasha White
Jody Wallace
by Mlissa | Dec 10, 2010 | Loose Id, spanking
Yes, I had a new release this week from Loose Id. It’s part of their new Not Quite Christmas Collection. I’ve heard from some readers already that have enjoyed it, loved it, said it was hot, surprising, erotic, fun, unexpected, and naughty. What more could ya ask for, right?
I haven’t done a lot of promotion for it this week. Been sick. Came down with a sudden cold and it’s gotten worse by the hour. I can’t breathe, my ears are stopped up and hurting, my sinus’ are so painfully swollen, and I can’t stop coughing.
The writing has been a bit on the fuzzy side, but I’m working on it.
Next week I’ll be giving y’all a glimpse of my December 24th release from Ellora’s Cave, Ink Spots.
I hope all of you have had a great week and are getting ready for the upcoming holidays. We’ll be discussing wish lists and cookies and fudge and marshmallows and movies and all sorts of fun and yummy things when I’m feeling better.
And, check out my book, Arrested Holiday from Loose Id… complete with a naughty cop, spankings, handcuffs, hot chocolate, Yahtzee, grilled cheese sandwiches, snowball fights, and naps.
Blurb:
Holiday ‘Holli’ James looks forward the week between Christmas and New Year’s. This is her one chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of her successful decorating business. The plan this year is a trip to New York City to see the sights and the lights.
The plan didn’t include a side trip to a small town jail in the middle of Pennsylvania. Nor did the plan include Officer Hunky.
However…
A single police officer, Michael is working the holidays — again. With no local family and no interest in accepting the pity invitations to Christmas dinner from his married friends, he’s content to work and earn extra cash. Besides, this year looks to be as uneventful as ever. Until he pulls Holli over for speeding, only to discover she’s wanted on charges of fraud.
Sexual tension spikes as Michael begins to investigate and discovers Holli isn’t who her record says she is. While they await answers, Michael is granted permission to remove Holli from the jail and place her under house arrest.
Only his idea of house arrest is much more personal than the law ever intended.
Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: anal play/intercourse, bondage, spanking.
~lissa
