Annette Mori's Blog, page 19

Summer 21 RV Book Tour

Sometimes I get hairbrained ideas and I suppose time will tell if this is one of them. As we prepare for our long RV road trip, I added a layer of complication to the trip by offering to do live readings, sign and give away books along the way. I suppose I should have consulted with my wife on this. I didn’t. She’s such a good sport and has been rolling with it (pun intended). Fortunately, only two stops have evolved into something major, requiring a bit more planning and work. One already has five other authors willing to join the madness, so I hope we draw a decent crowd or they may all shun me at future GCLS conferences! In case you haven’t heard about the event in Georgia, Denise Judge and I managed to get D Jackson Leigh, RJ Samuel, CD Cain and Lila Bruce to join us, after Denise kindly offered her beautiful venue, Fritz Farm. It happens to be on a weekday, so we’ve made the readings start a little later (7:00pm) to give everyone time to arrive in Cordele, Georgia. See Flyer below and mark the date on your calendar (July 14th). This Midwest/Pacific Westerner is going to try to melt into the Southern scene and not stick out like a sore thumb.

Another major (well…major in my little pea brain) is my stop the night before in Easley, South Carolina where the talented McGee Mathews lives. She is also offering to put together a fancy smancy live reading with maybe a live band! We are still looking for other authors who might live around that area to join us. Along the way, I’ve been in communication with a few other authors and will for sure try to get Ali Spooner to join me on a read in Pensacola, Florida as we crash at our friends, Gail and Deb’s place. We’re also stopping in Eureka Springs, Arkansas where the talented, Patricia Evans will do a reading with me. In Nancy, Kentucky, I hope to talk Darla Baker, the brainchild of Stone Soup Community Press, into a live reading. Others that I might connect up with include Caitriona Paige and Adrian Smith in Colorado Springs, who I believe will do live readings with me. We leave next Friday and I have vowed to be a lot better at posting on our journey. As long as I leave my wife out of the live FB posts, she won’t grumble too much! She also won’t grumble as long as we stick to the places we had planned on stopping at with limited flexibility. Florida is where family lives, so we may be able to stray as long as it is part of our route from Cape Coral to Pensacola, Florida. I know that a few kind readers have offered a library read or other place to gather in Florida, but that would require a trip too far east and out of our way. Soooo…if anyone else wants to join the fun, below is the itinerary!

Don’t forget about the two sale books from Affinity Authors, Erica Lawson and S. Anne Gardner: Out of Retirement and Til There Was You.

Now…don’t y’all get distracted by this shiny new object…because I still have loads of books on sale for you to check out. You know the drill…just click on the links below. Give my narrator, Heidi Bindhammer some love by getting the audio version of Locked Inside! She did a great job and deserves the accolades. I’m hoping she will do more narrations for me but I suppose that depends on sales!

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity









On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

CRS…Can’t Remember Shit Revisited…

I’ve been taking some time off of writing but wondered if that is such a good idea. You see, lately, my wife and I have had several senior moments. I vaguely recall doing a previous blog on memory loss, but alas I don’t really remember! The most recent senior moment is quite humorous if one chooses to see it that way. We’ve been preparing for our second major RV journey across the US and also have been talking about a big trip we want to take with other RV friends to Alaska next year. Since stuff always goes wrong, we like to have extra parts so we can replace things on the fly. We know what to stock up on, but what we can’t seem to remember is what we’ve already squirreled away. Here’s how the conversation went….sort of…because remember…I can’t really remember shit!

My wife: We should carry an extra propane regulator, a C02 monitor, and a fire detector. I thought you were going to order an extra propane generator. (Last year I replaced the propane regulator, and after tightening all the bolts to our batteries, I replaced the C02 Monitor yesterday.)

Me: I was. [I grab my iPad to put in the order.] I guess I forgot. I’ll order one and maybe get another C02 monitor.

My wife: Well we don’t need one now, but we will for Alaska.

[I start searching past orders and find an order that was delivered on May 16th of this year! Because if I don’t jump on something right this minute, I’ll forget.]

Me: Um, I did order the propane regulator. It says it was delivered on May 16th. Maybe you can check to see if it is in the RV?

[My wife shakes her head and heads to the RV. She mumbles something about us not remembering anything and how we are quite the pair with our shitty memories.]

Sure enough, it was in the RV. So here’s what I’m thinking…I better start writing again before I can’t remember how to string two words together! Maybe my friends with who I’ve shared my ideas for upcoming books will remind me of those ideas before they go “poof” before my very eyes! I just might have to return to my WIP about a retired couple who buy a ghost town to create a sapphic retirement community. Perhaps I will include diminished memories for both characters…write what you know…that’s advice that is often given!

As with most everything, I laughed at this minor blip in our memories. I choose to find humor in our waning memories. Either one of us will eventually remember…or we will depend on the black and white evidence of our previous purchases. I’ve started relying heavily on spreadsheets. They are a great tracking tool for everything from which books have been submitted for sales to where we plan on staying for our upcoming RV journey. Normally, I like to be more spontaneous, but that doesn’t always work out so well if you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

In case I don’t manage to pen too many more books…at least I have a fairly deep backlist for y’all to check out. You know the drill, just click the links below! Don’t forget this week’s sale books from two very talented Affinity writers, the late AC Henley and Erica Lawson who helped AC with Miss Match – McGee and Miss Match. They are both oldies, but goodies!

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity









On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

Summer Is Almost Here…

You would think that summer is here in my neck of the woods because the temperatures have reached triple digits. Yup 100 degrees the other day, well into the nineties yesterday and expected for today as well. The heat has put a strain on many things, including our plants and the new kittens. Poor mama meowed pitifully at me the other day as if to say, “Can’t you please do something about the heat, magic hooman who feeds us?”

Thankfully we have a pool. In preparation for the summer, I downloaded many new books to keep me occupied at the pool. I either dip into the pool and then read while cooled down or hang out on my floatie for an hour or two, then emerge to dry off and read before going back inside to our air conditioned place on the lake. Summer is what I call outdoor reading season. But there was a kink in my plans.

In preparation for the vast amount of reading I planned to do while collecting my daily dose of vitamin D, I bought a solar charger. Since I have an older iPhone and iPad, both lose their battery charge very quickly, especially when I periodically flip to the Internet using my phone as a hotspot. However, with the high temperatures, even the solar charger became overheated. So did my phone. I could not download my latest book to read on my Kindle app. At first I thought it was my cell phone company choking down my signal because I’d used too much data. But that wasn’t it because I have the highest unlimited plan available and did not even put a dent in my data plan for the month. The culprit…the sun. It overheated my phone which was in the shade in my bag. That is how hot it was.

We plan on making another long journey in our RV this year and are leaving a month later than last year. Maybe that isn’t the greatest plan since our journey takes us to Florida again this year to visit my father and other friends. If the air conditioning in the RV has problems…we’re screwed. We learned a lot last year…I suppose this year’s lesson will be how to use the air conditioning judiciously to avoid issues. We will undoubtedly have to re-create the issue we had last year when we turned it on for several hours in triple digit weather at the Gorge. Thankfully, the issue was a simple blown fuse. Everything so far that has gone wrong with the RV were simple issues to fix, but that did not stop us from having a hell of a time trying to figure them out until trial and error and a whole lot of Internet research led us to the solution.

Hopefully, all of you are enjoying the pre-summer heat and sun. If you need something to read, you know the drill, just click on the links below! Don’t forget about this week’s MyLesfic sales. One of my favorite writers who is a gem that not everyone has found yet, has two of her books on sale. I absolutely love her wit and humor and I guarantee you will as well. Check out, Taming the Wolff and Malodorous by Del Robertson. Also, I just read JM Dragon’s new novella and it has a bad ass Knight in it. Sooooo good. Check out her latest, The Black Knight and the Lady!

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity









On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

Action! Adventure!

I came close to not writing a blog this week, but then I felt guilty. So, I decided to write one and provide a sneak peek at my new novel coming out in July, titled, The Others. For the very first time, this book is not a romash. There are precious few WLW action adventure stories that don’t contain a romance as a subplot. I admit to loving romashes (romance + something else) that contain a lot of action and adventure, but I wanted to try something different with The Others. After handing it off to betas and receiving encouragement to polish the story because of the limited number of action/adventure stories in our genre, I submitted to Affinity who promptly accepted the manuscript, even though there is not a prominent slow burn romance within the story. Instead, I focus on the main plot of survival in a post-apocalypse world with the two main characters being an established lesbian couple. There are others established couples in the story and even a YA couple, but no romance subplot in a typical format or trope.

I am hoping that my beta is correct and people are itching to sink their teeth into a good action/adventure story without romance as a prominent theme. However, I am nervous. Soooo…what else is new…I am always nervous with a new release. I am going to provide a teaser scene for y’all and hope that you are enticed enough to check the book out when it is released in July.

“You look surprised. Oh, ye of little faith.”

“I knew you would be successful. I just didn’t think the trout would be so big and that you’d catch two.”

“I had a wonderful accomplice. Cher would chase the fish in my direction, and after a few of my special jigs, they couldn’t resist my charms any more than you can.”

I laughed and kissed her on the cheek. “You must have had your Swiss Army knife with you. It’s amazing that little thing can do such a good job filleting a fish.”

“I thought it would be better to clean the fish by the stream. That way, I could wash my hands.”

“Good idea. I found berry bushes. While you were playing the hunter, I was gathering. I wish I’d come across someone’s old garden, bursting with a fresh bounty of vegetables.”

“You’ll get the seeds you took from the shelter to grow. I’ve never seen a greener thumb from anyone else. You should make sure I steer clear of the new shoots when they start growing.”

I must have pulled a face because Em crouched down and touched my cheek.

“Do you think any structures have survived? I can’t imagine winter will be a whole lot of fun in a tent,” I lamented.

“I do. We just need to find the right ones, so we don’t end up joining some overzealous survivalist unit where they believe women are only put on earth to bear their children and ensure the continued existence of the human race.”

“I’ll bet the president survived and hopes his base made it through his colossal mistake. I guess this was one way to avoid conceding to his epic loss,” I said bitterly.

“I have faith we’ll find the right group to align with.”

“Do you think our home in Seattle survived?” I ventured into that dangerous territory.

On the one hand, I hoped our home was still there. On the other hand, I didn’t want to see the damage. With a large navy base across the sound, Seattle by location had become a target and was on the list of cities to hit. I knew it was unlikely to have survived intact.

“I always wanted to live in a rural area, and now we will.” That was Em’s answer.

“Em, if radiation dissipates as quickly as you said, why did you want to stay in the bomb shelter so long?”

“I wanted to avoid the squabbles over dominance. Lise, many things will have survived, but not the infrastructure. Without a means to deliver supplies to people who are used to running to the grocery store, there will be chaos. That is the real danger of war. Internal fighting will kill more than the original bombs. When resources are limited, true human nature rears its ugly head. I had a vision we would find our place closer to the mountains. I wanted to ensure our survival by avoiding the initial pandemonium. Neither one of us possesses fighting skills. Coming late to the game ups our odds.”

“I could kill someone who threatened you.” I puffed out my chest.

Em gave me a sad smile. “Oh, babe, no, you couldn’t, and that’s why I love you. If you were put into that untenable position, a death by your hands would change you in ways that…” She shuddered. “I wasn’t willing to take the risk.”

Her assessment deflated me, but she was right. I didn’t have the temperament for aggression. War changes people, and sometimes a person doesn’t know what they’re made of until facing a horrifying position. Whether or not I wanted to, that was a lesson I would learn in the not-too-distant future.

Mashing wild berries on the fillets, I placed them in the grilling apparatus designed for fish but adapted to other items. The fish was the best I could remember. I suppose my comparison to ten months of canned food with limited fresh food offerings had colored my appraisal. We had cans of tuna, salmon, and chicken to supplement our small garden in the shelter, but there was nothing like freshly caught fish.

I didn’t notice Em’s keen eyes focus on the spot above my head or the snap of a branch until it was too late. Em set the trout carcass on the ground for Sonny and Cher to pick at the bones. She folded her hands in her lap before greeting our visitor.

“You’re in our territory without permission,” the gruff voice declared.

“We were simply passing through. If you prefer for us to pack up and move along right now, we can do that,” Em calmly responded.

“You’re unaffected. Are you one of the government deserters or from a survivalist camp?” he asked.

At that point, I glanced in his direction and saw the stranger’s partially disfigured face and arm. Radiation burns traveled down his jawline, changing his otherwise flawless, chiseled lines to something less than perfect. His appearance was far from grotesque. I had the odd notion that this flaw gave him more character. I didn’t turn away and met his eyes—two small granites. I shivered at how cold and impassive they were.

“We were in a bomb shelter until today. Not exactly survivalists, but prepared,” Em answered.

The eyebrow unaffected by radiation lifted. “For ten months?”

Em nodded. I was too scared to engage in any conversation with this man who carried an assault weapon as casually as an executive might hold his briefcase.

He pointed the weapon at me. “Is she mute?”

“No,” I croaked.

“Come with me,” he ordered.

I tried not to panic. Em touched my arm to reassure me. “May we bring our cats?” she asked.

“Only if they can catch their own food. Supplies are not wasted on animals.”

“It won’t take us long to pack up the tent.” Em made the plea.

“You have five minutes.”

He hadn’t made a move to kill us or do other unspeakable things. I took that as a good sign. For some ridiculous reason, this man with his Hollywood good looks, despite the scars, pinged my gaydar. He hadn’t leered at either of us. He had merely observed us as if we were an interesting new species of bug. I suppose my idea of the post-nuclear world after total chaos included a great deal of raping and pillaging. His actions suggested neither had happened. Yet, there was a lack of emotion in his manner that unsettled me.

Thanks in advance for getting The Others when it comes out in July. In the meantime, I have a large backlist for you to check out if interested, including an audible version of my award-winning book, Locked Inside, brilliantly narrated by Heidi Bindhammer. Just click the links below. Don’t forget about this week’s sale in My Lesfic that features one of my favorite Affinity authors who also happens to be the editor for many of my books. She is a brilliant author. Check out Reach of the Heron by Angela Koenig.

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity









On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

Let’s Talk Orgasms!

Everyone who follows my blogs knows how much I love to do research. As a romash (combination romance and another subgenre) writer, I’ve had to do a lot of research on any number of things, including sex. Physical research is not the only method of learning how to write a good sex scene. However, believe it or not, until today, I’ve never researched orgasms. Perhaps I should have considering I struggle quite a bit while writing a new and innovative sex scene that hasn’t used the same old, same old words for body parts and sensations. It’s bloody hard to think up new ways to describe intimacy.

While doing research for this blog, I came across this article that said there are eleven different orgasms. Eleven! Yup you read that right. Now, I’m smart enough to know there is more than one type, but eleven? Before I wrote a sex scene for Pleasure Workers I tried to do research on the different ways to please a woman and came across the alphabet soup of spots, learning there was more than a G-Spot. If you want to know more about that, of course there is an old blog on that with a brief mention of when I talked about this at GCLS…here is the link: https://wordpress.com/post/annettemoriauthor.com/4925

Rather than go into great detail, I am going to give a brief summary of the eleven different orgasms and provide a link to the article: https://www.health.com/condition/sexual-health/different-types-of-orgasms-0 Here they are in no particular order:

Clitoral Orgasm – An old standard that is probably described most in books.G-Spot Orgasm – Definitely another fan favorite.Blended Orgasm – Find multiple erogenous zones like combining one and two and you’ve got the blended orgasm. This is also a popular orgasm to incorporate into a WLW sex scene.Anal Orgasm – Only the brave go there in WLW Romance…apparently this is not every woman’s cup of tea.Deep Vaginal Orgasm – Back to the alphabet soup of spots – this one hits both the A-spot and O-spot where fingers or a toy fills the vagina enough and hits those spots…yup you guessed it…deep vagina orgasm. Although this is definitely part of WLW sex scenes in many books when several fingers or toys are incorporated…I am not sure there is ever a lot of detail included to where exactly fingers or toys must go to reach this intense orgasm.Squirting Orgasm – Two words…female ejaculation. I rarely read about this one.Cervical Orgasm – I have no bloody idea…unfortunately the article did not go into great detail on this. Since the cervix is far back in the vagina…I am assuming that long fingers or a large dildo is required. More research is needed on this one.Nipple Orgasm – On a few occasions, I’ve read in romance books about this, but also not very common. I would suspect the reason for this is that not all women can achieve Nipple Orgasms. There is great variety among women regarding the level of sensitivity in their nipples.Exercise Orgasm – I exercise every day for an hour…hmmm…maybe I should increase that to two hours. This is also referred to as a coregasm and honest, it’s real. Apparently while doing core-based exercises you can achieve orgasm. Just super squeeze those PC muscles. I have never read about this one in a romance book!Sleep Orgasm – Some women, unfortunately not all, can have an orgasm during an erotic dream. I can’t remember reading this in a romance book…sure erotic dreams are common, but normally the books have not described the person having an actual orgasm in the dream…maybe after the dream when the woman got a little help from their own hand…that has been more typical.Multiple Orgasm – Only women can achieve this because unlike men women don’t experience a refractory period…so the research says. I am not sure this is accurate. I know plenty of women who insist they do have a refractory period and cannot achieve multiple orgasms. However, this is also a fan favorite and with all those really talented lovers out there and this is very common in WLW books.

So…there you have it, the truth about orgasms. Although this helps to perhaps liven up a book with one of the more uncommon types of orgasms…it hasn’t quite helped with how to actually describe the sensations…hmmm…more research, I suppose!

Want to read about which types of orgasms I’ve included in my books, you know the drill, just click one of the links below! Or you can listen to it as well since Locked Inside is now in audible! Also…don’t forget about this week’s sales in My Lesfic. Two fabulous Affinity books: From Wind to Water by Laura Novak and The Hidden Room by CS Joseph and Kathleen Grayson.

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity









On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

Boxers or Briefs

So, I was going to write about how the CDC has now come out with new guidelines that include not wearing a mask anymore if you are fully vaccinated, which we are…but then I am so dang sick of COVID, I decided not to go there. I looked back on suggestions made a week ago when I was stuck on a topic and ding, ding, ding…Kim Dyke suggested I do one on Boxers or Briefs. I thought, why the hell not, that’s as good a topic as any other lame blog I’ve done in the past.

Of course I did a little research on the topic and found out that boxers first came about in 1925 and were designed for…wait for it…yup, you guessed it…for boxers. You know the guys who punch each other in the face hoping to knock out their opponent. Everlast designed a trunk with an elastic band that gave boxers room to move around. They used to wear tights fastened with leather belts. However, boxers were not very popular in the 20th century until they were issued by the military in World War II. Men preferred their long johns because they offered more support. Briefs eventually replaced the Victorian-era flannel long johns.

You don’t have to go far to find evidence of working class lesbians in the 50’s wearing boxers or briefs in lesbian fiction. The iconic Stone Butch Blues has a passage where the main character mentions her jockeys as she recounts her arrest for the “three pieces of clothing” law. Yes, women could get arrested if they weren’t wearing three articles of women’s clothing. I suspect that lesbians have been wearing boxers or briefs for as long as men, and their popularity among lesbians who identify as more on the butch side is fairly well documented in various surveys and articles.

Unfortunately, I could not find any evidence of which was preferred by women…boxers or briefs. So, I will just have to weigh in on this particular debate and give you my personal thoughts on the matter. I used to wear boxers to bed at night because they are comfortable, but most of the time no clothing at all, especially in the summer is my current preference. With tight jeans or pants, boxers don’t work for me, because they bunch up, so briefs are definitely preferable in clothing that is more form fitting. However, the ultimate winner, especially since I’ve retired is commando. Underwear of any kind is simply unnecessary in my humble opinion now that I’m not wearing any work clothes or clothing that has the potential to rub against my sensitive parts! Thus the question of boxers or briefs is a false forced choice because I’m adding a third option to the age old argument…commando all the way.

A few years back I wrote a light-hearted romance called, The Panty Thief, and since most of my books do contain at least one sex scene, I suppose it would be interesting to do a survey regarding what my characters prefer…boxers or briefs. I’ll let y’all figure that out by…you got it…clicking on the links below! Don’t forget about this week’s My Lesfic sales. Once again there are books from Natalie London and Samantha Hicks featured this week, Search for the White Moon and Before the Light.

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity









On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

Fake It Til You Make It

Yesterday I posted about my mini-block on what to write my Friday Blog on, and I received this hilarious video about people faking it with style. Here is a link to the video: Fake It Of course I joked about how I’ve never once been able to avoid catastrophe when I’ve fallen, bumped into a wall, fainted, etc. Style was never in the mix for me. I often write about nerdy or accident prone characters that are based on real live events in my life. I am that nerdy, accident prone person. With zero athleticism, it is highly unlikely I would manage to catch that falling item before it hit the ground. That got me to think about writing and my belief regarding what I’ve been doing these past seven years…faking it. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I’ve been doing that with any more style than my periodic mishaps with walls or the floor.

Sure, I’ve had my successes over the years with several books winning awards and most at least breaking even or making a little money. Even my biggest dud, The Dream Catcher, ironically reached the #1 spot for a nanosecond in the LGBT Science Fiction Category. Does that mean in that instance, I actually managed to Fake It With Style? I never quite know what is the winning formula. The Dream Catcher is one of my favorite books, but despite the positive reviews (a small number), it did not catch (pun intended) on. Every single time I have a new book coming out, I worry myself into a right awful tizzy and second guess whether I can really call myself an author. I’ve just penned my 25th novel, and since hate is such a strong word, let’s just say I haven’t reached the this might be okay stage yet. Recently, I received the highest praise from my editor who stated, “Your stories have always been great, but your mechanics have improved so much. You’re a real writer, my dear.” I nearly plucked the comment right from my laptop and hugged it close to my chest (if only this were possible).

Over the years, many people have assured me that I am a real author, but insecurity is a common phenomenon with us artist types. We’re a squirrely bunch. Certainly not all of us, but I’ve heard from so many who have the same insecurities to believe it’s a thing. Thus, even if I get to the point where I believe I am a real author, I don’t think I’ll ever get to the point where I exhibit that confidence with style. Of course if y’all want to see how I’ve improved over the years, feel free to check out the links below. Oh, and, give The Dream Catcher a try…that book needs love! Don’t forget about the two sale books in Affinity featured in MyLesfic Newsletter: Secret of Stone Creek by Natalie London and After the Dark by Samantha Hicks. Both are great books. Also….Happy Mother’s Day…I almost wrote about that, but honestly every ad I see about Mother’s Day is a stab to my heart because my mother passed many years ago.

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity









On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

Historical Fiction

I’m scheduled to get my second COVID vaccine today. My rapidly firing brain, that often takes me on tangents got me to thinking, how will future authors represent this time in history? Truth is certainly stranger than fiction and if they get it right, it might read like a horror novel or science fiction story gone awry. Or, and this is the scariest part, it could simply represent an accurate reflection of how our world, and specifically the US ended up so utterly f—cked. Few have taken the plunge to write about COVID because it is still a sore spot for most of us, but perhaps given a few years, more will venture into the almost forbidden territory.

Let’s consider some of the unprecedented events of the past five years. The American voters put into power a reality TV star, megalomaniac, narcistic, self declared p-ssy grabbing president, only to impeach him twice and vote him out after four years. Almost one half of Americans believe not just the big lie, but conspiracy theories that defy all logic even after impeaching this cult leader and voting him out. Speaking of cult leaders, intelligent men and women continue to follow this president in the exact same way a fraction of the world followed Jim Jones. Only this time we aren’t talking about 900 people, we are talking about millions. The latest craziness is the owner of a private school in Miami who believes that a teacher choosing to get the vaccine will harm children. Yep, this is not a typo. She has declared that her teachers cannot return in the fall if they get the vaccine. So many lies continue from the ridiculous, from Biden restricting your burger intake, to the more destructive one, that racism does not exist anymore and it’s the white Christians who are now being discriminated against. No matter how many times it is reported that the biggest threat to the US is domestic terrorism spurned by white supremacy and nationalism touted by the past president, millions will not accept this truth, preferring to cling to the lies.

I won’t be around in fifty years to read what future authors write about this period in my life, but then again, maybe nobody will. The way people are quick to believe lies, our propensity for self destructive may be an inevitable conclusion. Perhaps we will no longer have a dystopian subgenre, it will instead be considered historical fiction…recording what actually happened to our world. In two months, my dystopian novel, The Others, will come out, and while the reason for the destruction of civilization is not a pandemic in my novel, I’d rather it not become historical fiction. While you are waiting for this action packed novel, perhaps you will decide to partake in my sweeter romances. You know the drill…just click the buttons below. Great reviews are coming in for Sculpting Her Heart, which I consider one of my best novels. Additionally, Locked Inside is now out in audible and is also getting rave reviews, including from some of my heroines in the writing world, like Lee Winter. I can’t think of a better marketing tool than praise from her!

And…don’t forget about this week’s sales in My Lesfic – The Refraction Series (one of this trilogy was a Goldie Finalist) by Angela Koenig and one of my books with a favorite character of mine, Heavenlaya in The Dream Catcher.

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity















On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

Language of Love

Every eight weeks, my wife and I travel to Seattle so I can get my hair cut and while we are there, we treat ourselves to a wonderful lunch with our friend at Duke’s Seafood and Chowder House. We’ve been meeting our friend for lunch for almost a year. Like clockwork. We always have wonderful conversations and she updates us on her love life and the latest person or persons she is seeing. We got to talking about things at lunch and she told us about this book called, The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.

Normally, I am not interested in new age/self help books that I perceive to be no better than those ridiculous surveys in popular women’s magazines that normally focus on how to “please your man”. Duh, for obvious reasons, I’m a lesbian. But as she began to describe this book and the test that a person can take to determine which love language(s) resonate the most with you, I could honestly see how this might be universal to all relationships.

To summarize the 5 different love languages, they are as follows:

Word of Affirmation – Compliments and assurances of love, which could be as simple as telling your partner you love them…daily if that’s what floats their boat, or perhaps how beautiful they are, etc.Quality Time – Having joint interests and spending time with your partner doing things you both enjoy. We both realized how important this one was when we lived apart for many years.Receiving Gifts – New iPhone/iPad, high tech stereo system that costs as much as a car, whatever item most coveted by your partner, etc..Acts of Service – Taking care of that pesky oil change, coffee in bed, a meal prepared with love, etc.Physical Touch – Not just sexual intimacy, but cuddling, massages, hand-holding or my personal favorite…head rubs at night while I place my head in my wife’s lap.

As I listened to my friend talk, I could easily see how if you and your partner are not in sync with what each of your wants or needs, it could lead to disaster. My wife often shows me her love with her special drink concoctions, head rubs at night, baked goods, etc. This truly works for me. It’s not that I don’t appreciate when she tells me she loves me, or buys me a gift (rare these days because we’re at the point in our lives where if we want something, we buy it), but I have a sneaking suspicion that my preferred languages of love are #2, #4 and #5. I want my wife to take the test to see if our preferences align. This will undoubtedly be a wonderful conversation to have, and I can truly see the benefits of being in sync with your partner.

As I thought about this book, I had to smile at how Zari in Sculpting Her Heart, my latest novel, did a wonderful job of showing her love through Acts of Service, and fortunately for her, Frankie responded well to her go-to language of love. In books we often read about how the main characters show their love through Words of Affirmation, but I’d be willing to bet my house that particular language is not universal, and maybe it is time we wrote about all five! Want to discover how I’ve incorporated the five different languages of love in my various novels, you know the drill, click the links below. Locked Inside, which is now out in Audible definitely demonstrates the various languages of love between Carly and Belinda. And…don’t forget about this week’s sales in My Lesfic – One of my personal favorite series is featured by Renee MacKenzie, the Karst Heart Series. This series was overlooked by far too many and one of those diamonds that need to be discovered by WLW readers.

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity











On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page

Humor

Humor plays an important role in the world. I’m quite fond of it. There are many different purposes for using humor. Of course comedy entertains us. I’m sure I am not the only person who loves a great romantic comedy whether it is in book form, television or movies. Humor can also help diffuse a tense situation. Some people, including myself, use humor as a defense mechanism, or a way to cover pain. I’m also fond of this particular way to use humor.

Judging by all the memes, posts and other things that have come out in the last year, COVID has brought forth quite a bit of humor. It’s been a stressful time for many people and unfortunately sometimes that humor comes at the end of a nasty, sharp, barb. For me, it has been difficult to decipher intent behind a random comment here or there. And my go to response is humor, sometimes of the self-deprecating variety.

Not too long ago, in one of my favorite book groups, a person that I don’t know well made a comment about a book of mine, not the actual writing or story, but something else. I was very perplexed by the comment and my initial reaction was hurt. So I did what I usually do, I responded with humor. The response to my humor, challenged my perception of the comment. Maybe it was not intended to throw shade or blast the cover design. That got me to thinking about the use of humor on Facebook and other social media platforms. Without seeing the other person’s facial expressions, or listening to their tone of voice, it might be nearly impossible to detect intent.

Back to social media, where two other times, I learned I’d been the topic of conversation behind the scenes and I was catapulted back to high school (not a particularly fun time for me). Once again, I used self-deprecating humor as a means to cover the hurt. I wonder to this day if that was the best way to handle the situation. I also wonder about all the times when I was in a position to confront something, such as an inappropriate joke in the workplace, if my use of humor was the right way to hold up a mirror to their bad behavior. Because sometimes a quick joke is all it takes to get the message across. Most of the time, the other person got it and backpedaled quickly, but sometimes they didn’t, nor did it really change anything. Is humor a gentle way of confronting someone, or a cop out? Interesting question that I don’t really have the answer to. In all the social media examples, either I misinterpreted the original comment, or my use of humor was enough of a mirror to reflect back to the person how it might have been hurtful. I suspect, I won’t change my tact anytime soon, but maybe as I age, I’ll have enough courage to simply ask, “Did you intend that comment the way that I interpreted it, because it kind of hurt if you did?”

The bottom line is that I do believe humor will continue to play a prominent role in my life. I often hear readers say my books have laugh out loud moments, and that is music to my ears. Perhaps humor used correctly is a good thing, certainly it is in books. But I suspect there are times when humor isn’t the tool to pull from my toolbox. Want to check out how I use humor in my books, you know the drill, click on the links below. You can also check out the two Affinity Books (Dreams in a Jar and Country Living) on sale this week in My LesFic by two great authors, JM Dragon and Jen Silver and see how they use humor. By the way, I know that all of you can’t wait to treat your ears to the audible version of my award winning book, Locked Inside which is now out. Early feedback is outstanding. I picked the right narrator by choosing Heidi Bindhammer. Hope y’all will give it a listen, because I really want to work with Heidi again! Don’t forget about my newest, Sculpting Her Heart which definitely has some laugh out loud moments!

Amazon US Amazon UK

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Amazon US      Amazon UK      Amazon Australia      Amazon Canada      Amazon Germany

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon US

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon Australia

Buy From Amazon Canada

Buy From Amazon Germany

Buy From Affinity











On Kindle Unlimited!Love Forever Live ForeverArtist Free ZoneThe Thanksgiving Baby CaperThe Book AddictThe Book WitchCompound Interest – Lesfic Bard Action/Adventure FinalistOn Sale!Locked Inside (Goldie Winner)Out of This WorldAsset ManagementThe Organization Join Mailing List Amazon Author Page

Proud to be an Affinity Rainbow Publications author!

Affinity Author Page