Penny Watson's Blog, page 32

The Martini Club Presents: Penny's Hot Brandy Cider

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat... 
Time for some holiday cocktails! 
Here's one of my favorite holiday drinks. You can drink it without the alcohol (why?), or you can add a nice healthy shot of apple brandy (yippeeeeee!).
Penny's Hot Brandy Cider
Ingredients:
apple cidermulling spices (if you don't have this, add pieces of cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, citrus peel, etc)Laird's Applejack Brandy
Put apple cider in a pot over the stove. Slowly heat. Be careful not to bri...

FREE EPILOGUE! Find Out What Happens To Dorko Dan! LUMBERJACK XMAS EDITION Is Out!

My readers spoke. And I listened. They said they wanted an epilogue. And I wrote one!

As a special holiday gift for my readers, I penned a quickie epilogue to LUMBERJACK IN LOVE that I'm offering as a free download. Find out what happens to lusty lumberjack Marcus, city slicker Ami, and the villain of the story, Dorko Dan. (Even Henry the Bulldog makes an appearance).

LUMBERJACK EPILOGUE: XMAS EDITION--GET FREE DOWNLOAD HERE!
I also had readers ask when LUMBERJACK IN LOVE would become available...

Penelope's 2012 Top 20 List

1. Longest, Most Tortuous, Riddled With Errors, Strangely Satisfying Romance With A Cussing Bearded Hero:

Sweet Dreams by Kristen Ashley

I still can't decide if this was a favorite romance or an extended form of torture. Somehow Kristen Ashley manages to make her 10,345,672-page epic romance with a well-accessorized heroine, hard-cussin' bearded hero, and enough plot twists and turns to make your head spin like Linda Blair in the Exorcist, into a satisfying story. I feel like I deserve a medal...

Romance: The Rodney Dangerfield of Fiction

Sometimes it seems like no matter what we do, romance just can't get no respect. Even if our books are on the top of the NYT bestseller list for weeks and weeks, even if we get good reviews, even if they're written by scholars and academics. 
They're still considered trash.
On the big old totem pole of fiction, we're beneath everyone. Way beneath literary fiction, children's fiction, cookbooks, turfgrass manuals, mysteries, thrillers, and horror. On the very bottom, in the mud-pit, is roma...

Spaseeba! Wherein Penelope Thanks Her Lucky Stars For Bearded Russian Heroes!

I had no idea when the weekend started that I would get on a bearded Russian hero kick.
But I did!
Starting with Bearing All by Tiffinie Helmer. Once again, Kate from Babbling About Books sent me the link as soon as she saw it was about a bearded Russian dude in Alaska. And it was free! I figured I would give it a try, not really expecting too much.
Well, I had no idea how hot and sexy lumberjack Russian assassins could be! Sergei, aka "The Bear" (schwing!) is living in the boonies of Alaska, hi...

And Then You Add Some Lettuce and Tomato...

It must have been that orgy book I read by Julia Rachel Barrett ( One Four All ). Or maybe it's just all the naughty Twitter talk about menages, hairy dudes, and whatnot. But God help my tortured soul, I got a story idea this week that is making me cringe.

A teddy bear threesome!

That's right. It's a TEDDY BEAR SAMMIE. (For those of you not up on the Penelope lingo, sammie=sandwich).

Just imagine, one super-lucky innocent heroine, sandwiched by two huge hairy delicious teddy bears. No need to add...

Most Insane Book Title Of The Week Goes To...

Virgin Slave, Barbarian King  
(by Louise Allen, recommended by Rane at Goodreads)
Heeeeeeeeee!
I could not help myself. This title was so wack, I just had to read the book. Well, the joke's on me, because this book kicked arse! It was set in ancient Rome and had marauding barbarians, a hot alpha hero, a courageous virginal (oops! that didn't last too long) heroine, excellent secondary characters, a suspenseful story line that kept me guessing until the bitter end how the hecka Ms. Allen wou...

ARC Review of The Long Way Home by Cathryn Parry

I read Cathryn Parry's debut novel Something To Prove  and I thought it was a solid first publication in the great big world of Harlequin. Harlies are all over the place. Some are utterly ridiculous (inexperienced virgin mistresses and the tycoons who love them), but high on the entertainment scale if that's what you're looking for. Some are short and sweet and formulaic. Some push the envelope. I'm not looking for believability when I read a Harlequin. That's not usually an expecta...

Teddy Bears, Merfolk, and Food Trucks: Reading Update

To say I've had quite the eclectic reading experience lately doesn't quite capture the insanity of my reading list.

I've read everything from "teddy bear" stories (about jumbo hairy guys) to merfolk horror to inexperienced virgin mistresses to my first interracial love story.

So, without further ado, here are some of my crazy reading selections from the last week. In no particular order.




Her Teddy Bear (#1) by Mimi Strong
Take Your Teddy To Work Day (#2) by Mimi Strong
Dress up Your Teddy (#3) by...

Making Assumptions Makes An Ass Out Of...Well, Not You, Just Me

Once upon a time, I made an assumption.
That folks might be sick of the same old-same old-book covers and enjoy something different. Quirky. Funny. Outside-of-the-box. 
Whoops! You know what happens when you make an assumption.
To be fair, some people did enjoy the quirky book cover...See Exhibit A:

Exhibit A
It's a parody of a bodice ripper-Fabio book cover from the 1980s. In block-print style.
And I personally think it's hilarious and cute.
Unfortunately, I had many readers give comments like...