Regina Cole's Blog, page 5

The Healthier Me Update! WHOO-AH!

I’ve been so busy being all healthy and stuff that I forgot Tuesday is our check-in day!

(It’s still not too late to join Sidney and I on our Healthier Me 2013 journey! Join us on twitter at #HealthierMe13)

So, as you remember, Sidney Bristol and I decided that 2013 is our year to get healthy. Hells, yeah. So last week I went Caveman, and kicked off the paleo way of eating.

The benefits have been LEGION, but I’ll summarize the highlights so far.

1. I lost 11 pounds. NOW, I know that’s too much to lose in a week. But I firmly believe that most of this was bloat and water weight due to the icky processedness of my previous diet. I went from eating probably 80% processed starches to eating 100% fresh protein, fruits and veggies. I don’t expect this insanely fast loss to continue, (it’s already slowed down some) but DAMN was it a nice kick start!

2. My brain is less fuzzy. My concentration and mood have improved since improving my diet.

3. My energy levels are climbing. I’m doing more, and feeling better.

So all in all, I’m really pleased so far! I intend to keep on trucking with the diet, and I’m hoping to join an old friend at a dance class this week, so maybe my exercise routine will actually exist.

What are you doing for Healthierness? Joining us? Did you post your update?

Much love!

Regina Cole's a Selfish Bitch

Reblogged from Darker Temptations:

Yep, I said it.

The blog challenge this week is to design a "Pleasure Planet." Well, I'll happily do that, but let's face it.

What flips my switch doesn't necessarily flip yours. Although if sales of my kinky novels are any indication, some of you do enjoy the same things--you dirty readers, you. ;)

So here's MY interpretation. I am the goddess of the Planet Pleasure, and I'm creating this world.

Read more… 227 more words

Visit me over at Darker Temptations today. I'm booking passage to Planet Pleasure. ;)

Healthier Me 2013 – Going Caveman.

Oh, Nick. EC’s Alpha Caveman of the Year.

 

No, not THOSE cavemen. Although it’d be awesome!!

So yesterday the incredibly lovely Sidney Bristol and I were chatting. And we came to a decision.

We both need help.

I’m going to get real and a little personal here, but bear with me.

I’m okay being a big girl. I’ve always been a big girl. I come from a long line of big girls. But you know what? I’m not okay with the level of unhealthiness I’ve sunk to.

My weight is causing me problems now. Not problems finding clothes, although that is tough. But I’m not functioning as well as I should because of the extra poundage. I could go into gory detail, but nobody wants that, right?

I’m not functioning as well as a 29 year old female should be. And with my 30th birthday staring me in the face, I’ve decided to do something about it.

Sidney and I are embarking on a journey. We’re calling it Healthier Me. My goal is to lose 50 pounds by my birthday, which is in mid-July. After that, I hope to lose another 20+ by Romanticon in October. We’re going to help motivate each other, kick each other’s asses when needed, and generally do this as a team. The goal of this isn’t exactly to lose weight, it’s to get HEALTHY.

Want to join us? This stuff is always more fun with a group! Readers, authors, weirdos, everyone is welcome!! Here. You can pledge to be a part of our challenge by clicking the link!

 

So right now, I’m going Paleo for 30 days. Yeah. If a caveman could eat it, so can I. Here’s the basics of the Paleo diet. No grains, no sugars, no refined foods. Yup, it’s going to be tough. But with Sidney and you guys helping kick my butt, I think I can do it.

If after 30 days I’m unhappy with the way it’s going, I’ll re evaluate and try something else. But hey, it has to be better for me, right?

What are YOU doing to get healthier this year? Coming on the Healthier Me train with Sidney and I? Let me know below!

Hugs,

~R

 

You can keep up with us here:

Sidney:  Blog | Twitter | Facebook (profile) | Facebook (page)

Regina: Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Twitter hashtag: #healthierme13

Top of my List

Reblogged from Darker Temptations:

There is such a thing called “The List.”

Each husband and each wife own one. This is the list of people that, if they show up at your front door, you’re allowed to go have insane, crazy, buck-wild monkey sex with, and your significant other won’t complain.

My list has a few people on it. The most interesting is probably Heidi Klum.

Read more… 273 more words

I'm over at Darker Temptations today, talking about my "List." Come see who tops it! :)

Books and Life

If you know much about me, you know that I’m an escapist. I love to experience books because there are no limits, unlike real life.

But I also love to read and write because it helps me to make sense of the world around me.

In a little over a month, I hope, some of you will be reading CAUGHT IN CRIMSON, the first book in my new series “Spellbinding”. A theme that runs through the story is doing what’s right for you versus what’s expected of you.

Now, I’m not one of those people that writes to theme. The stories come into my head, and they tell themselves. I’m usually just along for the ride. Like INDELIBLY INTIMATE. That one turned out to be a story about refusing to let bad choices define your life. And SINFUL TRUTH. That turned out to be a story about a murderous group of psychopaths. Okay, not everything I write has a clear-cut theme. But still.

image from Dreamstime free

I haven’t gotten a lot of criticism on my stories yet (most people that talk about them seem to like them, hurray!) but one of the things someone complained about in INDELIBLY INTIMATE was Quinn’s choices. They didn’t like that she made bad decisions.

I don’t know why this popped into my head today, but it did, and I felt like I should address it.

In good stories, the characters feel real. Real people make mistakes. So, my characters make mistakes. If we only wrote about perfect people, the stories would be very boring. Our flaws make us human. They give us depth and meaning. They are what drives us to become more, better. Quinn LaBrea is very, very human. But you know what? So am I. I haven’t led a perfect life, and I’m willing to bet NOBODY reading this blog has led one either. If you have, please contact me. I have a very large wheelbarrow you can borrow for that load of horse manure you’re toting.

Delia, the red witch and heroine of CAUGHT IN CRIMSON, has made mistakes. She’s got ideas that don’t really mesh with reality. She’s going to screw up, she’s going to fall. But I hope you read because in the end, you know that she’ll climb out of the hole she’s made. And in the end, isn’t that what all of us want to do? Move on, move up, move forward? Make up for past mistakes and drive toward the end, doing our dead-level best to be happy?

I think so. I sure do.

Caught in Crimson will release in February or March. Keep your eyes peeled on the new “Coming Soon” page for details. And let me know if you think I’m full of crap below. I can take it!

It’s beginning to look a lot like… FREE STUFF!!

Hey everyone!

 

If you’re reading this, you need to get your heinie over to Herding Cats and Burning Soup. I’m doing a guest post over there and giving away three presents!! Scoot over there and enter, and while you’re there, check out my vision of erotic romance. The lovely Anna and her guest authors are giving away TONS of stuff this holiday season, so enter and tell your friends!

And in case I don’t get to say this later, I hope your holiday season is peaceful, happy, and healthy. Blessings to you all from your smut-purveyor Regina Cole!

Writing Evolution

Hi there, loves!

It’s been a while since I talked about “the process.” You know, the nitty-gritty of penning a book.

And there’s something that I’ve realized over the past year.

Writing evolves.

When I first started writing, I was a total pantster. If that’s a new term for any of you, it basically means I wrote by the seat of my pants. No plan, no outline, no character sheets or premade synopsis. It was me, a computer, and the ideas as they came.

Well, that was fun for a while. But I’d get stuck. And then I’d get bored, and change gears. This led to a whole bunch of halfway-begun and not-great stories.

Once I started selling books, I realized that there were things I didn’t do well in this writing thing. Problems got isolated, and while I realized I had some nice strengths, I also realized I had some pretty tough weaknesses too.

That’s when the tools came in.

 

Brainstorming by blurbing. The “W” plot. Goal, Motivation, and Conflict worksheets. World building spreadsheets. Backstory planning. All these things are part of my arsenal now, my “writer’s toolbox” as the master, Stephen King, calls them in this fabulous treasure trove.

This stuff can feel cold. Clinical. Dispassionate. But you know what? It’s not. It’s important. Vital. Vibrant and necessary. Because these are the things that make a well-rounded and fun to read story. These are the ingredients that take the book from nice to spectacular. This is the work that has to go in before the final manuscript can be sent to the editor to make it palatable.

It’s like the difference between a kindergartner playing with Play-do and a sculptor forming a statue. One is fun, heck yeah, but the other will stun you with its beauty.

And I’m after the most beautiful story I can make.

 

How has your writing changed? If you don’t write, what are some of your favorite elements of storytelling? Maybe we can talk about what work goes into creating them.

 

Holiday shopping and Homicidal Impulses

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right?

Oh, HELL no.

Image purchased from Fotolia.
But it could definitely be the wall outside the Apple Store.

I made the mistake of going to a mall this weekend. I haven’t been to one in ages, and since the people I had left to shop for weren’t the kind of people that I knew instantly what they wanted, it seemed like a good idea to browse.

Next year, remind me of the hell that was a mall trip.

Stalking pedestrians as they walked to their cars to get a space, the honking and rude gestures as people cut one another off in the parking deck, the incredibly high prices? Ugh. It totally reminded me why I do the majority of my shopping at Kohls, Ross, and online.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Isn’t this supposed to be all about goodwill and love and stuff? Why does finding gifts for my loved ones make me want to shove the bellringer’s jingle down her throat? I didn’t, though. The completely dead look in her eyes told me it was a waste of time.

So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to grab some cookies (I’ll give you the recipe on Darker Temptations on Friday) and hunker down with my laptop to finish my shopping. It’s safer this way.

How do you deal with the roiling and pustular masses in December? I could use some tips!

A Virgin Attendee- Romanticon 2012!

Hey there, dear peoples!

 

My other face, Gina Lamm, is ass-deep in drafting for a deadly looming deadline, but her other face, MOI, has a convention this weekend!

WOOHOO!

This is my first Ellora’s Cave Romanticon, and I’m so stoked that it’s RIDONKULOUS. I have swag to give away, freebies, books to sign and a panel to participate in! Me, Sabrina York, JK Coi, and my lovely editor Carrie Jackson will be dishing all about the Hot and Horrific category Erotic Horror.

Have any of you attended Romanticon? What’s your favorite thing about it? Any tips for me while I’m there?

If you want to keep up with my exploits, make sure to follow me on twitter: @ReggiCole

I’ll be live tweeting using the #Romanticon12 hashtag.

 

Okay dearies! I’m off to get to packing. Wish me luck!

New Cover Alert! Caught in Crimson

Hey ladies and gents, check out the cover for CAUGHT IN CRIMSON, a new erotic paranormal that should be releasing in the next couple of months from the loverly Ellora’s Cave Publishing. I have to say, they really outdid themselves with this cover! I’ll post the blurb as soon as I have one, hehehe. In the meantime, I’m recovering from some minor surgery, so I’ll catch you later. Ooh, but I do have some exciting news about a new group blog I’m joining! More when the pain meds have tapered off.