I am now in the middle of Guilty Pleasure by Lora Leigh. I'm a big fan of Lora's but once again I find myself so distracted by all the editing mistakes. I believe I've counted about six so far. I'm not usually a critical reader that way, but then it's rare to find a big New York published book with those kinds of mistakes - I occasionally notice a typo, but this many really gets my attention. I'll comment on the story next week when I've finished.

Also reading a book called Piracy - The Intellectual Property Wars from Gutenberg to Gates, by Adrian Johns. I've just started but it's quite fascinating.

It's February 9 so that means a party with the Nine Naughty Novelists!! Come on by our blog for some fun today AND we're doing something different...

Instead of the usual boring contest, we decided to try to help out Haiti in some small way - so for every comment left at the NNN blog today, we will donate $1 to the Red Cross.

So come help us help Haiti!

I’m done! I actually finished Office Wife! I have to say, I was worried about my ability to actually finish another manuscript. Of course, it’s far from done. My first drafts are really rough.

On to the next part of my process. I know every writer does it differently, does it their own way. With this very rough first draft I will now go through it about a million times with a list of things to work on. The first thing will be my characters. I want to make them strong, sympathetic, memorable. Will I achieve that? I don’t know, but that’s my goal.

I have gathered materials together from a variety of sources about characters. I’ve read books and taken notes, done on-line workshops, read blog articles. I’ve pulled bits and pieces from all of these sources that I find helpful. I’ve created my own character worksheet. Now is the time to go back and look at those worksheets for these characters and make sure I’ve really shown all the qualities these characters have. Or have I shown different ones and I need to re-think the character? I have to make sure the characters have grown and changed through the story. I have to make sure people will actually like them and care about what happens to them. I have to make sure they are multi dimensional. Whew. Like I said, still a lot of work to do!

Here's the latest: Just Erotic Romance Reviews Newsletter gave RIGGER 4.5 STARS -

"I was very pleasantly surprised at the depth of the plot and the very real relationship issues these two had to deal with…The supporting characters… felt believable and meaningfully contributed to the overall plot…I very much enjoyed all the rope bondage scenes as they were well-written and built up the sexual tension… Ms. Jamieson is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. Pick up Rigger and you’ll see why."

Thank you to Laura Scott of Just Erotic Romance Reviews!

I think I should go write another book now. :-)

This was so nice to get the week that 2 Hot 2 Handle is out!

Whipped Cream Erotic Reviews gave Love Me More 4 CHERRIES:


"...the work is well written and flows at a super-fast pace. You’ll melt during the intense sexual scenes, while you nod in understanding and sympathy when Gavin and Melina have the ever important lovers spat. If you’re looking for something hot and intense that will leave you with a smile on your face, Love Me More is certain to hit the spot."

Thanks Fern from Whipped Cream for reading and reviewing my book!

AND!!

2 HOT 2 HANDLE is #1 on the bestseller list at My Bookstore and More!

“Oh, God, Ally.” Jack wrapped his arms around her, pulled her down onto his lap, buried his face against her breast. “Yes. You are. I love you so much.”
Time slowed while they sat like that, their hearts beating together in a hard, steady rhythm. Finally Ally took a big breath and drew back. He smoothed a strand of hair off her face, touched her cheek.
“I can’t leave you,” he said, now sure of that. He’d been struggling with the whole idea of leaving, pulled between his job and his love for his career, and his love for Ally. “I can’t be without you again. I was kidding myself that I could do it. I know that now.”
Her eyes widened more, her mouth open. She blinked, smiled tremulously. “You’re going to give up your job? Stay here?”
“If I have to do that, I will. I have to be with you.”
He met her gaze steadily.
“But you...you can’t do that,” she whispered. “I know you love your job, Jack. And you’re so talented...you’ve won awards. What you’re doing is important. I can’t ask you to give that up.”
“You’re not asking me, I’m offering.” He frowned. “It is important to me, but I’ve come to see there are stories to tell here, too. I can stay here.”
She just gazed at him. Then she shook her head. “No. You can’t.”
He frowned. “Ally...”
“I’d already decided. I’m coming with you,” she said determinedly. “I can do my work anywhere. I can write anywhere. And you know what?” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “I’ve realized from hearing you talk that I want to tell those stories too. I want to see the world, not just the nice beautiful places. Although I do want to see those too...maybe sometime we could go to Paris?”
He smiled.
“I’ve never been outside the States, other than a couple of trips to Mazatlan and Cancun. And that doesn’t even count. I want to see more...I need to see more. We can do it together.”
“Ally...” he shook his head. “I don’t know if you realize what you’d be getting into. Sometimes I’m sleeping in tents on the ground, in fleabag hotels. It’s not pretty.”
She nodded. “I know. I’ve seen your pictures, read your stuff. I know what I’m getting into. The thing is...” She looked down briefly, then back up. “I can’t be without you either.”
They sat there, staring into each others eyes. “There’s danger, too,” he muttered. “I don’t want to put you in danger Ally. I can’t do that.”
“You’ve put yourself in that danger all these years,” she said. “How do you think I felt?”
“It’s not the same.”
“It is the same. I may not have realized I was in love with you, but I was, and sometimes I was sick with worry.”
“Then you know how I’d feel with you in that kind of situation.”
“But we’d be together,” she insisted. Her fingers tightened on his.
“How about a compromise?” He looked down at their joined hands. “How about we have a home here in LA and we travel...a little, a lot, whatever we want...wherever we want to go. Paris, the Middle East, wherever the stories take us.”
He looked back up at her. She gave him a luminous smile, her eyes shiny.
“Yes,” she said. “That sounds like a good compromise. As long as we’re together.”
“There’s just one other problem,” Jack said slowly. “What is it?”
“Sarah.” Jack rubbed his forehead. “I thought if Carter and I stayed friends, I’d have a hope of convincing him to donate. Or at least get tested. But I kind of blew that.” He told her about his visit to Carter’s office.
She covered her mouth with her fingers, hiding the smile that tried to break through. It wasn’t funny. Really.
“So...we’ll figure out another way,” she promised him. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Their eyes met and held, the air around them charged with electricity. He nodded. And without another word, he pulled Ally up off the couch and led the way to her bedroom.
In the hall at the top of the stairs he turned, scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the room, then set her down gently on the rug, reached for the lamp beside the bed and flicked it on. Watching her intently, he reached behind his head and pulled off his t-shirt.

* * *

Ally’s mouth grew dry at the sight of his bare chest and she drew the straps of the slip dress she wore down her arms until the bodice fell to her waist. Then she pushed the dress over her hips and off. Slowly, her eyes held captive by his, she unfastened her bra and dropped it onto the nearby chair. At the same time, he stepped out of his jeans. Jack’s underwear went with his jeans, but Ally kept hers on until Jack gestured to them, his eyes warm and admiring, and she shimmied out of the little thong panties.
Then he opened his arms and she was in them, her body crushed to the length of his, skin to s kin, and his mouth covering hers. She wound her arms around his neck and pressed into him. His erection hot and hard between them, his mouth possessed hers, demanding everything. His hands slid down her back and held her hips.
“This feels like the first time we’ve done this,” he whispered against her cheek, nudging her hair aside.
“I know.” She tipped her head to give him access, delicious chills running over her at his touch, his words. “It feels right. Easy.”
“Perfect.”
They kissed again, then moved together to the bed.
Jack’s hands moved over her everywhere, gentle but hard, his touch thrilling her, making her wet, making her ache for him, and she sought his mouth over and over again, kissing him deeply as if trying to draw his soul from his body and meld it with hers.
Emotion rose in her, almost choking her, and she buried her face in Jack’s neck for a moment.
“Ally,” he murmured. “Ally, look at me.”
He gave her hair a little tug and she lifted her head to meet his eyes in the glow of the lamp. “It’s too much,” she cried softly. “I can’t bear it.”
“Yes, you can. You can. I know, I feel it too. We’re together. It’ll be okay.” He kissed her again, and her tears wet their mouths.
“I love you, Jack.”
“I love you, too, Ally,” he whispered. His thumbs stroked over her bottom lip. “I’ve always loved you.”
Something expanded in her chest, made it difficult to breathe.

He touched a finger to a tear in the corner of her eye then laid his mouth gently to hers. “It’s the truth. I love you. I loved you five years ago when I left. I would have fought for you, but Carter was my best friend. My second best friend,” he amended with a small smile. “He was the one guy I would never fight with over a woman. Even you.” His smile was pained. “I thought if you wanted him, if that’s what would make both of you happy, then I could never stand in your way. So I got the hell out of the way. But, I told you before, there was no fucking way I could stay around and watch you two together.”
“I’m sorry, Jack,” she whispered, another tear escaping her eye. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
“I know.” He wiped the tear away. “I know, Ally.”
“I want to tell you about what happened with Carter and me.”
His brows lowered. “I don’t know...”
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “The day you were taking my grad pictures I felt really strange. Like I was missing something, wanted something really bad, but I didn’t know what. I knew I was feeling anxious about you and your new job because you’d be traveling so much. Then you were acting funny, too. I didn’t know what it meant.” She paused and he nodded encouragingly. “So Carter took me out for pizza and we went back to my room. We were talking about stuff and he kissed me.”

Jack’s eyes closed briefly.
“It was nice. I felt weird and it was comforting. Then you came and saw us. I felt bad because I didn’t know what you’d think. Carter said we’d explain later. But I never saw you again. You left the next day.”
He nodded.
Ally’s eyes were wet. “After that, I guess I turned to Carter because you weren’t there. Carter was telling me he cared about me, and without you around, I just went along with it. I cared about Carter, and I suppose it did grow into something more. But then, like I told you, he started changing.”
“Or maybe you were just seeing the real him,” Jack said with an edge of bitterness.
“Maybe.” She touched his face. “But I have to think he did have some good qualities, or else we never would have become such good friends with him. Both of us couldn’t have been that stupid.”
His lips quirked. “Yeah. You’re right.”
“Anyway, he started changing, or I started seeing the real him, and I didn’t really like a lot of what I saw. That didn’t happen overnight, it took a long time. By the time he cheated on me for the second time, I’d had enough.”
She met his eyes. “I think I’ve always loved you too,” she whispered. “I just never knew it. I was stupid.”
“We were young.” He cupped her jaw and kissed her gently, his mouth warm and firm on hers. She kissed him back, wanting to absorb all the hurt she’d caused him, and all the crap he’d just been through.
“Oh, Jack,” she whispered against his lips, suddenly so overcome with longing her eyes filled with tears. Her emotions were close to the surface and raw after everything that had happened. It was all too much.
“It’s okay, Ally.” He dropped soft kisses all over her face, her eyelids, her nose, her forehead. He kissed away a tear that dropped from her lashes. “It’s all okay. I love you.”
He was so beautiful. She touched his face, brushed his mouth with her fingertips, traced a thick, dark gold eyebrow. “I love you, too, Jack.”
She knew now what it meant to be soul mates. When somebody you loved, loved you with the same level of intensity, when the connection between you went deep and far, when somebody knew how you felt and what you thought without words...that was a soul mate.
“Jack.”
“Mmm.”
“I have an idea. Tomorrow we’re going to see Carter.”

Extreme Close Up Chapter 32

I've had a busy with the releases so I haven't read much. I'm in the middle of Primal Attraction by Sydney Somers, and in awe of her imagination!

I did stock up on quite a few reads over the weekend, though, with the big sale at All Romance eBooks! Maybe this weekend will have time for more reading.

I have 2 releases out today - the print release of Friends With Benefits and the ebook release of 2 Hot 2 Handle. Interested in winning a copy of one of these books? I give away a free book to one lucky newsletter subscriber so come join up!

Click to join KellyJamiesonnewsletter

Here's the gorgeous cover and blurb for 2 Hot 2 Handle:

Two men. Too hot…

Abby Finlay sticks to one simple rule: no commitment. Ever. She’s not a one-man woman—or even a one-woman woman. She likes sex, and she’s not afraid to experiment. The secret to her success is never sticking around long enough to let anyone get past her tough, cynical exterior.

And that’s what’s making her nervous right now. The Look. In other words, the expression on two-months-steady Eric’s face when he looks at her. It’s got “next level” written all over it—and Abby’s on alert to head for the door.

When Abby confesses to the sexual arousal she feels with his roommate, Jett, Eric can hardly believe his luck. He and Jett have been looking for that one perfect woman with whom to share their lives, and Abby is the missing piece who fits perfectly into the empty space.

Confronted with not just one man, but two who offer her the “C” word, Abby’s buried fears come roaring to the surface. There’s only one thing left to do. Run, before she hurts the two men who mean more to her than they should.

Warning: This story contains one commitment-phobic woman, two hot men looking for commitment, sizzling ménage à trois sex and a HEA. Heat alert!!

And for Friends With Benefits:

They agreed: All the fun, no messy emotions. Until their chakras aligned…

Yoga is Kerri Harris’s life, but that doesn’t mean she’s a New Age flake. She’s a successful businesswoman, and it’s about time everyone took her as seriously as her mother-of-two, “real-career” sister. That means adding a new item to her spreadsheet—marriage plan. There’s only one person she trusts to help her check off this task: her best friend Mitch.

Divorce attorney Mitch MacAuley gets the cold shivers at the mere mention of matrimony. After the disasters he’s witnessed from childhood, marriage equals miserable. The last thing he wants is to help Kerri down that road, but he’s never been able to say no to her. He expects to feel pity for her as she goes on one disastrous date after another. The complete surprise? Thinking about Kerri with those other guys makes him crazy.

Her frustration collides with his confusion, leading to a big fight, a hot kiss and a scorching sexual tension that hits them both broadside. Prompting Kerri to propose a new plan…to add the bedroom to their list of BFF benefits.

They quickly find out there’s nothing casual about the heat they generate. In fact, the burn could ruin a perfectly beautiful friendship.

Warning: This story contains a late-night booty call, hot hotel sex and naked yoga!

Beth is a fellow Bradford Bunch author and a newly discovered addition to my must-read list, and she has a new book out tomorrow! She agreed to answer a few questions and she's going to give away a free download of her recent Samhain release, Holiday Bound to one lucky commenter, so be sure to say hi! I'll draw the winner Tuesday morning, so check back then.


RELEASE
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: February 2, 2010

His need for her was so absolute, he agreed to share her with another man in order to possess her.

Genny loved her husband Max, but something was missing—a sexual charge that was instead ignited by his business partner, Sean. He was ruggedly handsome, with a heart-stopping smile and a slow, sexy New Orleans drawl that made Genny weak. The more time they spent together, the stronger the attraction between them became and when her husband offered to share her with Sean for one intoxicating night, both Genny and Sean were too tempted to refuse.

That night in the company penthouse, Max and Sean showed Genny the heights of ecstasy. But it was Sean who scored her very spirit, and one-on-one, they were red hot. But as Genny learns, there’s a price to pay for such impulsive pleasure. What began as a night of forbidden desire spirals into a whirlpool of murder, sensual submission, secrets, and a scorching passion that threatens to consume everyone it touches.

Read an Excerpt: http://www.bethkery.com/release/

Order Release: http://www.amazon.com/Release-Beth-Kery/dp/0425232719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251473722&sr=8-1

Here's the awesome trailer:






Kelly: First I juast have to say, I can't wait to read this book! Tell us a little more about Release and how this story came to be.

Beth: Release started as a surprise phone call from my agent, who said that Berkley had a slot opening, and could I do an emergency proposal? I had this very sketchy idea: what would happen if three people shared an impulsive menage a trois one night, one of the lovers was murdered afterwards, and the remaining man and woman suspected each other of the murder? So from there, I added this whole plot that involved a private intelligence firm and two lovers who are madly in love being reunited after years of separation. Luckily, I have a good friend who is in military intelligence, and he gave me so much invaluable information about the world of espionage and spies. Release is a suspense, but it’s first and foremost a romance about two people who are crazy for each other but have been kept apart by circumstances, conspiracies and secrets. One night during a Chicago blizzard, they are thrown together again. All this incredible passion surfaces, but so does a dangerous threat.

Kelly: Man, I wish I got phone calls like that. :-) Beth, do you have a writing process?

Beth: I do. When I'm working on a deadline, I have a daily word count quota that I have to make. I'm pretty strict on myself about it. I write it down in a book and keep track.

Kelly: Describe the environment where you write. Do you try to create an atmosphere and does that change with different projects?

Beth: It’s embarrassing to admit, but I’m usually writing sitting up in bed with my laptop, surrounded by research books, articles and a dictionary. The atmosphere really doesn’t change much.

Kelly: Writing in bed is just full of awesome. One of the best things to do in bed, besides...okay, well...what’s coming next from you?

Beth: Well, Release is out on February 2. Then I have a new series starting at Samhain, a paranormal erotic romance, called Princes of the Underground. The first in the series is called Velvet Cataclysm, and I’m so excited to be doing my first vampire book. J In December, I have another book coming out from Berkley Heat called Explosive. Excited about it as well, as it’s a psychological suspense as well as being an erotic contemporary. That’s about it for me this year.

Kelly: That sounds great! Congratulations on the new release!

Beth: Thanks for featuring me at your blog, Kelly!

I'll draw the lucky winner of a download of Beth's book HOLIDAY BOUND tomorrow morning, so once again, leave a comment and check back Tuesday morning.

Eight reviews in the month of January! Wow! I don't know why this happened but I am overwhelmed. And since they've all been good reviews, right now I feel like my heart is going to explode!

The latest is 5 HEARTS from Shannon at The Romance Studio

"Ms. Jamieson has created an absolutely amazing story that quickly captures the reader's attention with its fascinating, complex and delicious exploration into a relationship built around an alternative lifestyle of pleasure and pain... Rigger is a unique and powerfully sensual story…There is a degree of edginess, sexiness and out-and-out erotic heat from every sizzling and passionate sexual scene … I am totally intrigued by this very talented author can't wait to read more from her."

Thank you so so much!

Ally sat in front of her computer, waiting for Jack to get back from Carter’s place. One more glance at the clock told her it was taking way longer than it should have for him to pack his things, make his flight reservations and come back.
He’d said he’d come back. He’d better come back. Even if just to say goodbye. Unless Carter had somehow said something...
Jack’s loyalty to his friends was one of his most endearing traits, but now he had to see Carter was pond scum. It was sad...because they had been such good friends. They’d shared so much, and even though Carter must have had some doubts back when Brittany’d been pregnant, he had supported Jack through all that. It was such a shame.
Her insides still a writhing mass of nerves at the thought of Jack leaving, she tried to focus on her work. But it wasn’t happening.
Her life was a joke. She was stuck on her book, her fluffy magazine pieces disgusted her. She wanted to do something real.
She was not going to let it happen again. Jack had left her once before. She’d been so lost, she’d turned to Carter, pretty much her biggest mistake ever.
So if Jack was leaving, she was going with him.
It was crazy, but not so crazy. It made sense. What would she be leaving here? Nothing at all. She had a few close friends she could keep in touch with; otherwise her life was empty. She could write anywhere, and maybe she’d actually find something inspiring to write about.
Her heart leaped in her chest and adrenaline slid through her veins, making her restless, stomach tight, impatient to see Jack and tell him.
Agitated, suddenly anxious and impatient, Ally gazed around her office. She could pack right now. She could be on that plane with him, when he left. Where was her suitcase? She jumped out of her chair.
Then she stopped. Reality stuck a pin in her bubble of excitement.
She couldn’t just leave her condo. She’d have to make some kind of arrangements...she sank back down. What would she do? Sell the place? Ask her friends to keep an eye on it? How would she pay the bills? Suddenly the enormity of what she was about to do overwhelmed her.
Okay. Okay. It was do-able. Just maybe not immediately. But she’d talk to Jack. Maybe he’d wait for her. If not, she’d follow him. She put her hand over her mouth. Yeah.
Then the sound of her door opening had her head whipping round.
Jack.
Jack stood there in the foyer, his hair mussed, his t-shirt untucked over the most faded, shabbiest jeans she’d ever seen.
She noticed his bags sitting on the tile floor behind him. All packed and ready to go. Her heart lodged painfully in her throat.
“You’re back,” she said softly.
He grinned.
She frowned. “Why are you looking so happy, goddammit?” she snapped at him.
“I don’t know.” And he laughed.
She drew in a shaky breath.
“I’m scared as hell and pissed off and...I don’t know why I’m so happy," he said.
His grin annoyed her. She scowled. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’m coming with you.”
His jaw dropped. “What?”
She plowed on. “I’m coming with you to Iraq. You left me once, and I’m not letting you do it again. So, the only problem is...” she hesitated, bit her lip. “I can’t be ready to go, in like...when does your flight leave?”
“It doesn’t.” Amusement sparkled in his blue eyes.
Her jaw dropped. “What?”
“I cancelled it.”
“You...cancelled it. Why?”
“I’m not leaving.”
She blinked, shook her head. “Like...for how long?”
“Ever.”
Once again, her eyes widened to an eyeball-popping width.
“I...I don’t...” She looked around for something to sit on, afraid her legs were going to give out. She stumbled into her living room and collapsed onto the couch. “I don’t understand.”
“I want you to see something.” Jack followed her with the case holding his laptop, opened it and booted up the computer. He slid a flash drive into the port and in a moment, Ally’s face was on the screen.
“Whoa,” Ally breathed. “When did you take that?” She put her fingers to her mouth. The photograph was utterly sensual, portraying a woman’s raw sexual yearning, a photographer’s adoration.
Jack told her how he he’d been feeling that night he’d taken their graduation photos, seeing something in her, not sure what it was, but wanting to find out. Carter interrupting them. Carter and him, looking at the photographs of Ally, seeing the tender, hungry longing in her eyes, her sexuality that had always been there but which was brought out by the obvious worship the photographer had for his subject.
“It’s...beautiful, Jack,” she said slowly. “I don’t usually like pictures of myself, but that’s amazing.”
“Yeah. Fucking amazing.”
Startled at the bitterness in his voice, she turned her gaze to him.
“He knew,” he ground out. “The son of a bitch knew how I felt. He could see it.”
“Are you talking about Carter?”
“Yes, goddammit.” He slammed a hand down on Carter’s coffee table. “He knew. And he went after you deliberately.”
“What...what are you saying?”
“Carter came to you right after that, didn’t he?”
“Um...God, I can’t remember.” She closed her eyes, thinking back. “Yeah. It was right after that. We went out for pizza.” Silent, she cast her mind back in time. “It was different. He was paying so much attention to me. When I said something about you, he said you probably had plans with some girl you were seeing, which was news to me.”
Jack growled again. “I wasn’t seeing anyone then.”
Ally nodded, met Jack’s eyes. “Then we went back to my room and that’s when...he kissed me. And then you came in.”
“He knew I was coming over to bring the prints. Fuck!”
“Are you saying that he only did that because he thought you and I...what are you saying?”
“We were looking at the photos on the computer and we were both blown away by them. He realized I was nuts about you. So he deliberately went and put the moves on you, just to keep me from having you. And God help me, it worked. I ran like a fucking wounded dog, tail between my legs, because I wouldn’t fight him for you. I was so fucking loyal to him. What an idiot.”
“You are not an idiot,” she said, putting her hands on his chest, staring into his eyes. “Carter was a good friend to both of us. We thought. Your loyalty is what makes you so...you. I love that about you.”
Whoops. That kind of slipped out.
He grimaced, thrust a hand through his hair, not even picking up on her words. “He’d slept with my girlfriend in high school, which I didn’t know about. He let me take the heat for getting her pregnant when it was him, pretending all the while to stand by me like a great friend.” His voice was bitter. “But that wasn’t the worst, because, even though I cared about Brittany, she wasn’t...the one.”
Ally stared at him, heart thudding in slow painful beats.
“The one girl who was the love of my life...he fucking stole her away from me, deliberately. And then he kept us apart for five years.”
“Oh, Jack,” she whispered. “Do you really believe that?”
“I know it,” he said harshly. He met her eyes, held them. “I know he did, Ally. It all makes sense now. All of it.”
She swallowed. Then she whispered, “Am I the love of your life, Jack?”

Extreme Close Up Chapter 31

Although I could barely keep my eyes open I stayed up and finished Mating Game by Janice Maynard. This turned out to be a pretty good story. At first a woman with 3 guys in her sights as possible husband candidates had me wondering how this story was going to turn out, but it quickly became evident who the hero material was. That was one minor problem I had with the story - how fast Nola and Tucker fell in love. That was a little hard to buy, but otherwise a pretty good story. And I always like to see someone who breaks the "romance rules"!

Next up on my reader: Primal Attraction by fellow Naught Novelist Sydney Somers!

I just have to say, I am blown away by the reviews I've been getting lately! This just rocks my little world.

Night Owl Reviews gave RIGGER 5 stars and a TOP PICK!

"While I don’t always appreciate all the aspects of BDSM, I do appreciate a good love story and this is a good one... What came across was the special relationship between Alek and Shaela and how it was evolving into something new and different. As they explored each other and their limits, you could appreciate the journey they were taking. I thoroughly enjoyed this best friends to lovers story. Excellent job."

and...


Joyfully Reviewed says:

"I...wasn’t able to stop reading the book once I started because I liked each character so much and wanted to see how events would turn out with them. Of course, it would be remiss of me to write about a book called Irish Sex Fairy without mentioning, well, the sex. Ms. Jamieson certainly knows how to heat up the page, blending eroticism with tenderness in ways that made me sigh and – if I may be honest – envy Keara.

Irish Sex Fairy is everything its title suggests and more. It’s warm, sexy, and fun...I absolutely loved Irish Sex Fairy and will definitely be reading more of Ms. Jamieson’s work!"

I’m sticking to Office Wife, even though I have reached that point where I believe I have written 125 pages of utter crap.

I want to make myself finish this story and then I can back to something else, or even start one of those new ideas.

I’m not doing so well on the “not going back and editing every time I open the document” plan. I keep doing it. I’m trying not to.

My fear is that this story is meandering all over the place like a wild pantser plot, and my characters are not acting at all consistent with their motivations. But I’m getting to know them better, and I have gone back a couple of times and added things to the beginning of the story that make them more real and believable and dimensional. And I have other ideas, too. This seemed to work for me before, going back to the beginning after I know the characters more fully, and fleshing out both them and the story. I know there’s not a right way or a wrong way – I’ve read that you should know your characters intimately right down to what kind of toothpaste they like to use before you even start writing, but I’ve also read that it’s okay to get to know them along the journey.

So once again I’m just trying to find my way, trying to find my balance with this. It feels loose and a little vague but I’m going to keep going and hope I can tighten it all up later.

This totally gave me shivers last night watching it on television - enjoy!

On his way back to Carter’s to pack his things and make flight arrangements, Jack used his cell phone to call Brittany.
“Are you okay?” he asked her immediately.
“I’m okay.”
“What are you going to do about Carter?”
“I have no idea.” She sighed. “I think I might need to get a lawyer. I want to know if there’s any way I can force him to get tested.”
“You’ll need a good lawyer to fight Carter,” Jack said. “He’s smart as hell and from what Ally says, he can be kind of unscrupulous.”
“No kidding.” Bitterness sharpened her voice.
“Listen, we can try again to convince him. I don’t know if we’ll have any luck, but we can try.”
She was silent. “You don’t have to do that,” she answered. “But if you could... She’s my baby, Jack.” Her voice hitched. “You and Ally have been great about all this. I want to apologize again, Jack.”
“It’s okay. I don’t know what it’s like to have a child, I guess, but I was getting close to understanding. I get that you’d do whatever you have to, to save her.”
“Yeah. And Jack, you need to call the clinic. They need to give you all the test results.”
“Okay. I have the number. Hey, okay if I come by later? Sarah and I are almost finished the tree house. And I need to clean up your yard.”
Silence. He waited, heard a sniffle. “Yes,” she whispered. “That’s fine.”
After he flipped his cell phone closed, he called the clinic and spoke to the oncology nurse. She confirmed Brittany’s message and gave him all the results of the physical he’d had. Good to know he was healthy, anyway.
When he got to Carter’s place, Carter was of course at work. Jack plugged in his laptop and booted up, checking e-mail from work. He sent off a quick message to his boss to let him know things had changed and he’d be ready to head back sooner than anticipated.
Then he paused. The thought of leaving Ally made him feel empty inside. Hell.
This was not good. He had a job, a career that was important to him. He should be desperate to get back to the action. But, strangely, he wasn’t. The image of Ally as he’d left her that morning came to mind, warm and rumpled and sexy. All he wanted right now was to be back there with her. He couldn’t help but smile even as he was just a tad worried about how he was feeling and the conversation he was going to have with Carter.
Jack had the rest of the day to kill before Carter came home and he took one more shot at convincing him to get tested to see if he could donate for Sarah. He packed a few things, and when he came across some DVDs he slid them into his laptop and started looking at images to pass some time - images of Baghdad, Falluja, the night that Mohim’s wife and child had died.
He changed to another DVD and Ally’s face appeared full screen - the college graduation pictures he’d taken. Whoa. He hadn’t seen those for a while. Christ, she was beautiful.
His chest ached.
He’d left the day after that. The only other person who’d seen these photos was Carter, that night when Jack was downloading them from his camera to his computer.
Jack remembered looking at the images of Ally with Carter at his side and how dumbfounded they both had been. He clicked to another image. A photograph of Ally came up, an extreme close up where she’d been shrugging out of the graduation gown. Because she’d been wearing a tank top, it almost looked like she wore nothing under the gown, one shoulder bare, her eyes full of naked longing as she gazed at the camera. At him.
Jack remembered Carter asking him why he’d taken so many pictures of Ally. He remembered the two of them standing side by side, looking at that one image and Jack had muttered something abut how gorgeous she was.
Two hours later he’d walked in on her and Carter kissing.
Everything sharpened into focus, clear and pure.
“Son of a bitch,” Jack growled. He stared at the screen, horrified suspicion seeping through his body.

* * *

Jack somehow found Carter’s office in an impressive high-rise office tower in downtown LA. Every sense was hyperaware – the smog and the exhaust fumes stung his nostrils, the roar of traffic assaulted his ears. The air of the office building chilled him as he walked into the lobby and his sneakers squeaked slightly on the marble floor as he strode to the elevators. He jabbed the up button, turned away from his reflection in the stainless steel doors.
Carter appeared surprised to see him but showed him into his office. “What’s up buddy?” He took a seat behind his desk, while Jack carefully closed the office door behind him. Then he walked towards Carter’s desk, went around behind it.
“Stand up,” he ordered, his voice low and tight. Carter gaped at him. “Stand up,” he said louder, rougher. Slowly Carter raised himself out of his black leather office chair. He had barely straightened when Jack drove his fist into Carter’s gut.
With a gasp, Carter doubled over, clutched his abdomen.
“You fucking asshole,” Jack growled. “I was pissed off enough after what I found out about you and Brittany. But even that wasn’t as bad as what you did to me and Ally.”
“What are you talking about?” Carter wheezed, looking genuinely confused as he struggled for composure. He stepped away from Jack’s clenched fists, gasped again for air.
“You knew I was into Ally,” Jack bit out. “That night before I left, when I did those pictures. You knew. And you deliberately went and seduced her, just so I couldn’t have her. Then you lied to her about my e-mails, told her you never heard from me, just to keep us apart. You are a fucking bastard and I want to kick your ass so bad...”
He took a deep breath. “Just tell me why,” he ground out through gritted teeth.
Carter lowered himself into his chair, blinking rapidly. He ran a hand through his hair, rubbed his stomach. “Uh. I have a meeting in a few minutes,” he said. “This isn’t really a good time.”
“Just tell me why you did that,” Jack said again. “I want to understand.”
Carter’s eyes narrowed. “Okay,” he said, his voice flat. “You two always had some special bond. You were friends before I ever came along, and even though we were supposedly the ‘awesome threesome’, I never felt like I was really one of you. You two spoke your own language; hell, sometimes you didn’t even have to say anything and you understood each other.” He gave a bitter laugh.
Jack stared at him. “You never said anything back then.”
“Yeah, right. What would I say? I’d sound like a whining little kid. And frankly, when I moved to Garden City I was just happy to have friends. I went along, glad to be included in your little circle. Even though I don’t think I ever really was included.”
“Yes, you were,” Jack said slowly. “Of course you were. We were all friends.” He moved away from Carter’s desk.
“Not like you and Ally were. Then, in college it was clear you were falling in love with her. That pissed me off. I figured, why should you have her? You had all the talent, you were going to be the famous hotshot photographer. She even loaned you money to go to New York so you could ace one of your courses.”
She had. When airplanes had flown into the World Trade Center, Jack had been so desperate to be there, to capture what was happening, Ally’d offered him money so he could fly there. His photos had earned him an A+ on that course.
“Well, I cared about her, too,” Carter continued. “So I just made my move first.” He shrugged.
“No.” Jack’s hands, still clenched into fists, ached, and he opened his fingers. “You didn’t just make the first move. You wouldn’t have made any move if it wasn’t for the fact that you figured out I cared about her. You did that on purpose to kick me in the teeth.”
Carter kept his face expressionless. “You can think what you want. It’s all moot. You left and gave Ally up.”
“I gave her up once. Hell, almost twice.” He shook his head grimly. “I’m not giving her up again. And if you have a problem with it...you can go fuck yourself.”
“I should have known you were screwing her.” Carter’s mouth twisted. “When you didn’t come home the other night…”
Jack’s stomach rolled. “So do you admit you deliberately kept all my e-mails from her?” he asked slowly. “You really did want to keep us apart, didn’t you?”
Carter shrugged. “You took off. It just seemed cleaner if she thought you disappeared.”
“You bastard.” Jack stared at the man he thought he knew. He didn’t know him at all. He turned and walked out of Carter’s office.

Extreme Close Up Chapter 30

First of all, apologies to Cherry Adair and Janice Maynard - your books were the ones I happened to read just before and after Rainwater and unfortunately I am going to spend my time raving about Rainwater.

I finished Night Shadow by Cherry Adair. Her stories are always action packed!

I'm now reading Mating Game by Janice Maynard. I'm curious where this story is going.

The highlight of my week (probably my year, LOL) was RAINWATER by Sandra Brown.
I had this book loaded on my reader for several weeks but hesitated to read it. I'd heard it was quite different for Sandra Brown and I love all her contemporary stories, so was reluctant to read something set during the Depression, afraid I wouldn't like it.

I loved it.

I started tearing up about half way through the story and was literally sobbing out loud at the end. My family was rolling their eyes at me (there goes Mom again). I wanted to analyze the story and figure out why it was so moving, but every time I started thinking about it I started crying again.

Last week I mentioned how one book I'd read hadn't been all that satisfying, and I questioned what made the main male character in that story a "hero". Well, I could start listing all the things that made David Rainwater a hero and probably couldn't even list them all. As a start:
- the time and patience and care he shows for Solly
- the encouragement he gives to Ella about Solly
- the things he does to help Ella
- the way he got involved with the farmers in the area and led them in their efforts to stand up to the "town bully"
- the way he personally stands up to the town bully, knowing that physically he is at a disadvantage
- the way he lived the end of his life with strength and honour and dignity and courage
- and the one that just wrenches my heart - read the book - his sacrifice at the end will grab you by the throat

Ella is a true heroine, too. She is a strong woman who leads her life with courage and honor and dignity despite all the hardships she has had to endure - her son, her husband, how hard she has to work to support her family. Things like her lack of prejudice in such a different time, her generosity in giving food and clothing to the people in the shanty town, her willingness to take a boarder into her home who is dying, her determination to keep her son with her despite her worry and fears for him, and most especially her refusal to allow herself to give in to self pity, all show her heroic courage. Her faith and determination to get her son to respond to her maternal love touched me so deeply. Imagine loving your child with all your heart and not knowing if he even realizes that. Of coures, in the end, Solly does show he loves her - she gets what she wants, but with such a heartbreaking outcome. And most of all - her willingness to fall in love even knowing what the end will be - her acceptance that just because the ending of the story is sad, it's still worth reading the book.

Neither of them is perfect - which also makes them heroic, in my mind.

This is one of those stories that will stay with me for a long, long time.

The other book I'm flipping through right now is called Write Mind - 299 Things Writers Should Never Say to Themselves. It gives write mind suggestions for "wrong thinking" and it's very positive.

Lately I've had a flood of story ideas in my brain. The dilemma of course is – which one do I work on first? I already mentioned that I have three works in progress. But when I get a new idea, I get intrigued by that idea and want to run with it.

Am I in danger of becoming one of those writers who starts things and never finishes them?

Now, it’s not like I’ve never completed a book. I have 12 contracted books (10 already out and 2 more coming out) and I have – count ‘em – 6 completed manuscripts sitting waiting (for what, I’m not sure, but there they are). So I can do it. I’ve done it before. But geez, it’s been a while…and I’m wondering if I need to exercise some serious self-discipline and just work on one project and FINISH IT.

The ideas will still be there to work on when I’m finished – right? But what if it’s not fun? I love writing – I love so much about it. Becoming my characters, getting in their heads, living in their world, solving plot problems, finding beautiful new words and new ways to put words together that say exactly what I want to say. If it’s not fun, I just think – shouldn’t it be?

“Jack! The booze must be making you violent.”
“Nah. I had that idea before we started drinking.”
She snorted with laughter. “Are you that mad at him for sleeping with your girlfriend?”
He paused. “No. Actually, I don’t even give a shit about that. I’m more pissed off that he won’t help Sarah.”
“Oh, Jack.” Her heart softened and she dragged in a shaky breath.
“I like your living room, Ally,” he said with an abrupt change of subject. “Did I tell you that?”
“Uh...no, I don’t think so.”
“As soon as I walked in the door, I felt at home here,” he said. “Which is weird considering this is where you and Carter lived together.” He frowned.
“Well, this is all my furniture and stuff,” she explained. “So I guess it feels more like my place than Carter’s.”
“Yeah. It does feel like your place. It’s very you.” He waved a hand. “And I like it. And I like you.”
She giggled. “I like you too, Jack.”
He looked at her, lifted a brow. “You wanna have sex again tonight?”
Ally couldn’t help but laugh. “Apparently I always want to have sex with you. The question is, do you? You’re the one who’s been holding back.”
“Yeah. I have been. But suddenly all the reasons for us to not get together don’t seem so important.” He growled and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him for a hug. “Only problem ish...is...I might have had a bit too much to drink.”
Ally relaxed against him, loving his embrace. “S’okay,” she mumbled. “Me too. But you can still stay here tonight. You can’t drive back to Carter’s like this.”
He shook his head. “No,” he said solemnly. “Can I sleep in your bed, though?”
She giggled. “Sure. Where should I sleep?”
He gave her a nudge. “Witch. With me, of course.”
She laughed again. “But you’re too tanked to tango.”
He groaned. “Damn it.” He kissed her hair. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”
She leaned back to look at him. They were both a bit lit but she could see the heat in his eyes despite their glassiness. She smiled slowly at him. “Promise?”
“Hell, yeah.” He paused. “Thanks Ally.”
“Thanks for what?”
“For being there for me. Again.” He raised his glass to her in a toast. “You’re the only one in the world I can always count on.”
She smiled at him, feeling very warm and fuzzy. “And I know I can always count on you.”
They gazed at each other through a slight alcoholic haze and she suddenly realized how true those words were. Carter had let her down. She had new friends – Katelyn, Kim, others she had worked with - and she supposed she could count on them in a time of need, although that had never been tested. But without a shadow of doubt, she knew that whatever happened to her, Jack would be there.
Something squeezed her heart and her breath caught in her throat. She gulped down a burning mouthful of Jose Cuervo. Oh, God. This attraction she had for Jack was feeling strangely like...love.
She stared at him, her mind whirling with a million thoughts. She could not fall in love with Jack. Again.
Again?
She swallowed more tequila. What did that mean? She blinked at Jack, trying to process her confused thoughts. Had she been falling in love with Jack before he left? Was that why she’d had all those strange yearning feelings, why she’d been so restless and anxious about school ending?
They went upstairs and curled up naked together in Ally’s bed and slept, or perhaps passed out was a better description after all the tequila, and woke up late. Ally had forgotten to set her alarm and when she saw it was ten-fifteen, she had to think for a moment to know what day it was. Wednesday. Then she had to think a little longer to try to remember if there was any good reason she had to get up. Yeah, she had work to do, but she didn’t have to be anywhere or do anything.
She snuggled deeper into Jack’s arms, and felt them tighten around her. “You awake?” she whispered.
“Don’t yell like that,” he answered with a moan. She gave a little snort of laughter.
“Do you need some Advil?”
“What I need is to find the asshole who’s shooting off that AK47 in my brain and kill him.”
Amused, she turned in his arms to face him.
“Don’t even think of kissing me,” he said, burying his face into the pillow. “Not until I’ve brushed my teeth.”
Mmm. Ally ran her tongue over her own teeth. Probably a good idea.
“I’ll go use the bathroom first, then I’ll get you some Advil and coffee,” she offered. “And toast.”
“No toast.”
“Whatever.” She’d bring him toast and make him eat it.
Strangely, although she’d been a bit looped last night, she felt fine. She slid out of bed and walked naked to the bathroom.
She paused, both hands on the edge of the counter and lowered her head.
What on earth was she going to do when he left again?
Because what was keeping him here now? Now he’d learned he was not Sarah’s father, nor could he help her by donating bone marrow, the only reason for him being in LA no longer existed.
Oh lord. Her stomach plunged all the way to her toes.
He was going to leave. She knew it. He knew it. There was no longer anything keeping him there.

Extreme Close Up Chapter 29

Gotta laugh, but I got two more!





This one's for Irish Sex Fairy from Alternative-Read.com:

Fraught with tension at the beginning...This is full of the complexities of life, joy, humor, and a woman who has to decide whether or not "they" win. I liked the premise the author worked with in this and can see a sequel possibility. This one is good for a night by the fire.



And another one for Sexpresso Night - 5 STARS from Just Erotic Romance Reviews newsletter:

“I loved everything about Sexpresso Night and to my surprise actually learned quite a bit more about coffee…Ms. Jamieson does a wonderful job showing their building emotions and pacing this story perfectly. The sex scenes were incredible, well-written and detailed…. Sexpresso Night is a story I will definitely be rereading and I will be on the lookout for other books by this author.”