Vivian Arend's Blog, page 26

Travel Picture: Playing in the Snow

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This week’s travel picture isn’t taking us very far… Instead, we have a picture of Luna, Vivian’s dog, playing in the snow. Isn’t she adorable?!?!

First Line Friday: Rocky Mountain Angel

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Want to read a contemporary and sexy marriage of convenience? Pick up Rocky Mountain Angel!

Neither of them blinked.

Dust motes hovered in the sun streaming through the open barn door. Gabe Coleman leaned back on a wall and took a deep breath. The heavy scent of farm animals filled his nostrils. Familiar as it was pungent, the aroma that had been a part of his entire thirty-one years calmed his nerves.

The conversation was going about as well as he’d expected, but damn if he’d give up yet. He resisted muttering stubborn jackass and scrambled for a new tack. “Look, I showed you the receipts for the past year. Expenses went up, our projected revenues are still far less than they need to be.”

The face before him remained motionless. Shit. Definitely not working.

Another idea struck. “I read an article in the Calgary Herald last week. Rancher down by Pincher Creek was ready to go bankrupt…”

Gabe trailed off. Suggesting their section of the Coleman ranch was getting closer to that same situation was not the way to make his father listen to reason.

Three feet across from him, broad nostrils twitched for a second then the ancient donkey reached down to grab a mouthful of grain before turning his back on Gabe.

Even the animals seemed tired of listening to him try to come up with a way to save their lives.

He pushed himself up and headed toward the tack room. If nothing else, the ranch itself provided a million distractions. The reality of working the land sucked—enough damn property to make a man look rich, and not enough money coming in to keep putting food on the table throughout the year.

Giving up wasn’t an option, but hell if he knew what was at this point.

The saddle had barely landed on Hurricane’s back before his mother’s voice carried from the house side of the yard.

“You got any spare time today?”

Gabe tossed her a smile even as he wondered why she hadn’t made her request to his father. “Was going to go check the creek and fence lines, but there’s no rush. You need a hand with something?”

She nodded. “I want to plant the garden this week and need more room. Can you turn over another few rows?”

Shit. Now he knew why she’d waited until Ben had headed into town after breakfast. “Ma, you already have enough garden you can barely keep up. You sure you want more to deal with?”

Dana Coleman looked her age that day, but the determined jut of her chin warned him he’d be breaking sod before long. They came by stubbornness honestly in their family, from both his parents’ sides.

“Every bit we grow is less we buy, Gabriel. And I figured a little extra wouldn’t go amiss—there are always people who want fresh produce.”

They stared at each other for a minute. Gabe hated the entire situation with a red-hot passion. He had ideas he thought could improve their circumstances, but beyond ideas were only half-started and hidden projects, none of which were going to bail them out of trouble. Using the donkey to practice talking about finances was supposed to make talking to his family easier, but hell if he wanted his ma to be the one worrying. “You can’t save the ranch by growing more carrots.”

“Well, I can’t save it sitting and complaining that the cost of feed keeps going up either, can I?”

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Travel Picture: Hawaii

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For those of you who are stuck in the dead of winter, I have a fun picture of Vivian in Hawaii!! Hopefully this will warm you up!

First Line Friday: Turn It Up

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Who doesn’t love a fun and sexy pregnancy romance?




 

The doors of the Sugar Shack swung shut behind her and Natasha Bellingham drew a sigh of relief, thankful to get out of the blinding morning sunshine. Her body hurt all over and she could have sworn she had a slight headache, but her brain was too numb to be sure.

A deep chuckle rose from her right, and she twisted slowly to stare into Maxwell Turner’s grinning face.

She closed her eyes and struggled to stay on her feet. “You’re here already.”

A hand slid around her waist and she peeled her eyelids open as Maxwell Turner Junior guided her to an overstuffed chair in the farthest corner of the café. It happened to be the darkest corner as well, shaded from the bright light pouring in the floor-to-ceiling windows. He seated her and held out a glass of water. She gulped it gratefully.

Now if he’d wipe that silly grin off his face, she might consider thanking him, even if it was an ungodly hour. It took way too much effort to check her watch. The numbers blurred, but it had to be well before her intended wake-up time of two in the afternoon. This was far too early to be up the morning after her final big bender.

“I’ll grab us coffee. I assume you don’t want anything to go with it.”

Flashing her middle finger was tempting, but that would have required more energy than she currently possessed. Max laughed again and strode away, his ass flexing nicely under his worn jeans. Not that she noticed. She’d sworn years ago not to notice anything sexual about him.

She sighed. Even with her head the size of a football, there was no escaping the truth. He’d grown into a good-looking man. She still wasn’t interested.

Liar.

Tasha leaned back on the comfortable high-winged chair and breathed slowly. Maybe if she didn’t move for a week her head would return to normal. The café was peaceful, people chatting quietly, wonderful smells of dark roast drifting on the air.

“Coffee, double, on the table at six o’clock. Drink up. We’ll talk once you’ve found peace with the universe.”

“Oh, you’re funny.” Her head might split in two if she laughed, or she would have been more amused.

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Travel Picture Wednesday: Utah National Park

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Nicole here, it’s Wednesday and time for another of Viv’s travel pictures.  This is an amazing shot of the Utah National Parks from Viv’s last trip to the area. How stunning!

First Line Friday: Rocky Ride

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Who needs an extra sexy romance read this weekend? ROCKY RIDE is one you need to try.

Heat rolled along her spine, leaving a sticky residue behind like at the conclusion of a long shift on an endless summer day. Only it wasn’t hard labour that had brought the undeniable flush to her skin. It wasn’t the sweltering breeze blowing past, causing leaves on the nearby trees to tremble, or the scalding sun beating down on her dash.

It was sex. Or more accurately, the anticipation of sex.

A straight-up, body-pounding, muscle-clenching fuck about to be delivered with all too much finesse by her favourite speeder in the entire district.

Right now she wasn’t in the RCMP cruiser, and she certainly wasn’t on any major highway in the Rocky Mountain House area. Anna Coleman sat in her personal vehicle at the side of a lonely country gravel road as anticipation rapidly rolled toward consummation.

Thank God.

Her side-view mirror gave her a flawless view of Mitch Thompson. He uncurled himself from his Harley, removed his helmet and left it behind on the handlebars. Her heart rate kicked up as he sauntered closer, dragging a hand through his dark hair before pulling off his sunglasses and hanging them from his front pocket. Black leathers gripped his thighs, sunlight flicking off the fabric as he strode forward. The tight black T-shirt only emphasized the width of his chest and biceps, the dark lines of his tattoos curling over his forearms to where they ended in ragged flames on his wrists and the back of his hands.

Hmmm, his hands…

His usual cocky grin was absent, instead his expression one of total dignity and control, one step away from a glare. From this distance, she couldn’t see the golden specks in his dark brown eyes, but they were there, the knowledge of how they flashed brighter during moments of intense pleasure intimately embedded in her memory. His hair was too short to be more than rumpled from the time under his helmet, the dark brown strands matching the shadow of facial hair darkening his square jawline.

Nice. Today Mitch was one hundred percent hoodlum playing one hundred percent dangerous authority, and the combination caused one hundred and ten wicked reactions. She squeezed her knees together, but the pressure did nothing to ease the localized ache between her thighs.

He rapped his knuckles on her window.

Anna moved slowly, as if she hadn’t been panting for this moment. She rolled down her window but stared straight ahead, refusing to make eye contact.

“I need to see some identification,” he drawled.

“What seems to be the problem?” she tossed back, one side of her mouth twitching upward briefly before she got her amusement under control.

“You have no idea what you’ve done?” Mitch leaned in, elbows resting on the doorframe and inhaled deeply. “You got an explanation for the smell in here?”

She jerked to face him. That question wasn’t in their usual repartee. “Smell?”

His panty-melting grin exploded. “Hmm. Like sweet, hungry pussy.”

Holy moly. Anna squirmed. “You’re mistaken. I’m not transporting any animals.

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Travel Picture Weekend: Vivian out hiking

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Today’s travel picture is one of Vivian out hiking. I love the happy look on her face as she is out enjoying nature.

Re-Release of the Turner Twins

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Every story starts…with a story! And here’s one to share with you regarding the TURNER TWINS series.

When I started writing, I began with paranormal novellas. Nice bite-sized bits of fun and lighted-hearted sexiness that I really enjoyed. But after writing a few of those, I asked my editor what she suggested I attempt next to improve my writing. Being the wise and amazing person she is, her suggestion was to try writing a longer book. So I did.

I took a single scene that had leap into my head—

There’s a woman standing at the top of a regal set of stairs. She’s laughing down at a handsome man when suddenly the phone rings, and suddenly, she looks scared to death. That’s all I knew, and I HAD to write the book to find out what happened. That became TURN IT ON.

Only here’s the extra fun part of the story. I enjoyed writing Maxine and Ryan’s book, but I only intended to write ONE book. It’s totally stand alone, but me, being me, tossed in a sibling. And when TURN IT ON was published I started getting asked a lot of questions about Maxine’s twin brother Max (yes, their weird names are explained!) But Max already had his sweetheart, Tasha—so to tell his story, I had to go back in time. TURN IT UP was published about a year after the first book. Only the events in it happen…before. Lol. Yeah, it was confusing!

So now to turn this story about stories into a happily-ever-after, I’ve gotten back the rights to these books. They have gorgeous new covers, and it no long says book 1 on the wrong book. Both books are STAND ALONE stories, but if you really, really, really need to read in order, read TURN IT UP first.

If you’ve already read them, the books are basically the same. I cleaned them up a little bit—in even 7 years some things have changed—but please don’t re-purchase if you bought the originals published by Samhain. But if you enjoyed them, you can totally point your friends to the new versions!!

First Line Friday: ROCKY MOUNTAIN DESIRE

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Ever read a book about a hero who falls head over heels for his ex-girlfriend’s little sister? Now’s your chance! Get ROCKY MOUNTAIN DESIRE today!







Prologue



Whoever invented the debauchery of a traditional bachelor party ought to be slathered with grease and tossed in a sand pit. Matt Coleman worked his way down the length of the bar, tray full of beer jugs balanced precariously as he manoeuvred his burden over the rowdies crowding the floor.



There were too many bodies, too many familiar faces to cut and run like everything screamed for him to do. This wasn’t where he wanted to be, not by a long shot. But his personal preferences didn’t free him from his responsibilities as the oldest single male in his family.



His brother was tying the knot? Matt would take a trip into hell itself to make sure all the rituals and customs were followed. Even the stupid ones.



A loud roar sounded from ahead of him, and he hurried his step, hoping to control the damage before someone—probably one of his younger brothers—went totally out of control.



“To Daniel, who not only got his balls chained but sleepless nights with kids thrown into the bargain.” One of the many cousins in attendance shook a stuffed bear in the air. The attached set of handcuffs rattled, and laughter rang out before he tossed the gag gift onto the table with the others.



Matt lowered his tray in time to see Daniel’s response all too clearly. The familiar ear-to-ear grin his brother had worn for most of the past year proved he didn’t give a shit his freedom was about to officially disappear into the sunset.



The music picked up, both in volume and tempo, and enthusiastic hoots rose from the males crowding the private room at Traders Pub. The door on the far side of the raised platform opened and a pair of long, slim legs appeared.



Someone yanked on his shirtsleeve. Matt leaned in close enough to hear Daniel above the rest of the boys’ caterwauling.



“Strippers? You trying to get me killed?”



“I stopped at dirty dancers. Beth won’t kill you unless you touch ’em.” Matt lifted his shoulders briefly. “Face it, bro, this part of the party ain’t for your sake anyway. You tell me the entire clan would accept your idea of a steak dinner and a brew down at the ranch, and I’ll suspect you’ve found a bottle of Unca’s moonshine and been sampling it on the sly a little too hard.”



Daniel shook his head, raising his drink in salute. “I’m telling her this was your idea.”



“Damn right, you give me credit. Had to book the entertainment in all the way from Red Deer.” Matt forced a smile, clicking mugs with his brother as he searched the room for the three youngest boys in the immediate family.
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Travel Picture: Yosemite

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This Travel Picture Wednesday, we have another picture from Vivian’s adventure in Yosemite!