Jennifer Locklear's Blog, page 12
December 31, 2014
Susi’s Favorite 2014 Reads @helenahunting @jmdarhower @christina_lee04 @sylvainreynard @zlikeinzorro @christypastore @prodigalson_1, @debra_anastasia @MinaVaughn @alice_clayton @MetalBlonde @ChristinaLauren @KatBastion @StoneBastion @AuthorFabiola @MJLockl
Morgan Locklear & Jennifer Locklear:
Our sincere thanks to Susi for listing Exposure as one of her favorite reads of 2014! There are some great books on her list. It’s an honor to be included.
Originally posted on Reading & Writing Between The Wines Blog:
Susi’s Favorite 2014 Reads
I’ve read so many amazing books this year that putting this list of favorites together was quite difficult to do.
Here are my favorites. They are in no specific order. Congrats to the Indie authors who made my top pics!
How many of these books have you read?
by JM Darhower
5 stars
by JM Darhower
5 stars
by JM Darhower
5 stars
by Christina Lee
5 stars
by Debra Anastasia
5 stars
by Marie Coulson
5 stars
by Victoria Van Tiem
5 stars
by Mina Vaughn
5 stars
by Jennifer and Morgan Locklear
5 stars
by Christina Lauren
5 stars
by Karina Hale
5 stars
by Nicky D. White
5 stars
by Alice Clayton
5 stars
by Alice Clayton
5 stars
by Alice Clayton
5 stars
by Helena Hunting
5 stars
by Helena Hunting
5 stars
by Helena Hunting
5 stars
by Helena Hunting
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December 23, 2014
Our Favorite Book Covers of 2014
Morgan Locklear & Jennifer Locklear:
Many thanks to Bookish Temptations for listing Exposure as one of their Favorite Book Covers of 2014!
Originally posted on Bookish Temptations:
Our favorite book covers of 2014…
View original 289 more words
December 11, 2014
Blogiversary GIVEAWAY – Exposure by Morgan & Jennifer Locklear @MJLocklear
Morgan Locklear & Jennifer Locklear:
Happy Anniversary to Susi and Reading & Writing Between The Wines! We’re helping her celebrate by giving away an ebook of Exposure!
Originally posted on Reading & Writing Between The Wines Blog:
Giveaway – Exposure by Morgan & Jennifer Locklear
Enter to win an eBook copy of Exposure by the dynamic duo Morgan & Jennifer Locklear.
Leave a comment on this post.
One winner will be selected via random.org on Monday 12/15 at 9 am and will be notified via e-mail.
International Giveaway eBook
No purchase necessary to win.
Good luck!
Thank you Morgan & Jennifer for being part of my blogiversary. ~Susi
Publicist Shaunna Noble is no stranger to the ego-filled dysfunction of Hollywood’s elite, but is she ready for her two biggest clients to turn into her worst nightmare?
Kyle Petersen and Michelle Cooper are Hollywood royalty, everyone’s favorite celebrity couple, but while on location filming their new summer blockbuster, Kyle ambushes his wife with divorce papers and orders Shaunna to destroy Michelle in the media. Unwilling to comply, Shaunna spectacularly and publicly quits her job, humiliating Kyle in the…
View original 254 more words
December 10, 2014
Exposure Giveaway!
We’re approaching 3,000 followers on twitter and we want to celebrate this awesome milestone!
We’ve opened up a Rafflecopter giveaway and one lucky winner will receive a signed paperback of Exposure when we hit the mark.
This offer is open internationally, so give us a follow, share this post and enter our giveaway.
Best of luck to you and thanks for your awesome support this year!
Take Care,
Morgan and Jennifer
PS We are now on tsu. If you are there too, come over and friend us!
December 1, 2014
Works In Progress: December events
Welcome to December, Everyone!
This time last year, Morgan and I were in the midst of editing our first novel, Exposure, and wondering what 2014 would hold in store for us.
Since the novel’s release in June, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind and we’ve been so happy with how the book has been received. Being accepted into the Omnific Publishing family has been such a joy for us, and having our very first novel distributed by Simon & Schuster has exceeded our expectations.
Yesterday morning, The Book Bellas, posted their 4.5 star review of Exposure. You can also visit their blog to enter a giveaway for the ebook.
This Wednesday (December 3), we’ll be taking over the Book Boyfriend Junkies facebook page at 8:00 PM Eastern /5:00 PM Pacific. We hope you can take a few minutes to join us for some fun. We’ve been looking forward to this event for a while now and who knows what will happen? Be sure to give their page a Like.
On Friday, December 5 at 7:00 PM Eastern/4:00 PM Pacific, Jennifer will be stopping by the Naughty Under the Mistletoe holiday party, hosted by Lit4Ladies.com. With a name like that, you know things may get a little crazy.
Last but certainly never least, you can also join us for more holiday party fun on Saturday, December 13. We’ve been invited by the ladies at Hopelessly Devoted 2 Books to join their Hopeless Devoted does Christmas facebook event. Meet us there at 3:00 PM Eastern/12:00 PM Pacific for an hour of Hollywood holiday fun!
We’re looking forward to bigger and better things in the year to come. We’re both back to writing. Morgan is working on a paranormal romance set within the New York City subway tunnels, while I’m writing a contemporary May to December romance set within our home state of Oregon.
We’re working hard to make sure these stories can be made available soon and hope you’ll continue on with us in the months to come.
Take Care,
Jennifer & Morgan
November 25, 2014
POP TALK: The 80’s Called, They Want Their Music Back
I’ve felt like a teenager again these past few months because there have been a flood of iconic 80’s bands releasing new material. Information Society, (one of my all-time favorites), put out their first new album in 20 years; and on the very same day, Erasure also put out a new CD.
Before I review the aforementioned albums, I should also mention the release of not one, but two new records by Prince. I’ve been tempted to break out the Gumby earring and jump Hammer pants first into the bubble gum decade that raised me.
Spoiler alert: All four albums are good. In fact, some of their best works respectively. Prince especially surprised me with his Lenny Kravitz-esque funk feel. (Incidentally, Lenny also released a new album, and it too is a worthy addition to his already hearty catalog).
If you ever wondered why Prince changed his name to a symbol for a few years here, in a nutshell, is the reason. He was feuding with his then record company and refused to give them any more of his music. However, they technically owned his name so he released material on a different label without it until his contract ran out.
One of the two new Prince releases was written and recorded with a new partner in rhyme, 3rdeyegirl, whom I had never heard of but who has clearly been given a high position in the New Power Generation. Their CD, Plectrum Electrum, does not play out like a corny duets album, but instead has an effortless blend of both their talents. The style is all Prince but the addition of 3rdeyegirl adds a valuable and enjoyable layer to his brand of sexually charged songs.
There are moments of pure wisdom as well. I site a line from the song, Aintturninround, where they sing “Maybe the hand you’re looking for is at the end of your arms.”
Most reviewers have preferred the more upbeat and produced Plectrum Electrum, and Lord knows my 80’s ear loves the catchy tunes and bleep blorpy treatments mixed with a healthy dose of solid Prince guitar, but it’s his solo album that I think is the stronger of the two.
Art Official Age is just the sort of random album title I would expect from Prince, and the motif of the third eye is carried through this twin release. Prince explores several different musical styles, but funk and soul seem to be his flavor at the moment. (If his hair is any indication he’s reliving 1979.)
Overall, both albums are strong and fun to listen to. Prince is clearly enjoying his rebirth and only time will tell if the radio stations reward his efforts.
Now on to Erasure’s new CD, The Violet Flame. It’s their 16th studio album which is impressive enough, but when you remember that Vince Clarke also founded Depeche Mode and had a two album career with Alison Moyett as the band Yaz, it becomes down right impressive.
Erasure has embraced the more aggressive production styles of late and their low end is represented well enough to give the kids something to thump in their car stereos (if any kids even know who Erasure is). At times it’s laid back, but at others it sounds more like the violent flame and I’m happy to report that there isn’t a single dud on the entire album.
Andy Bell is in fine voice and it has the best overall flow of all four records. This was of great relief to me because I tend to get very disappointed when good bands produce bad albums. Not this time.
Finally, the longest break between new recordings came from Information Society, whose new collection of songs called, _hello world, has one foot firmly planted in the past while the other is stepping into the future of their music.While there are a few unsuccessful attempts on this album, the eight or so songs that I do like are wonderfully layered and jam-packed with interesting sounds and bold beats. I have always liked Kurt’s vocals, and he doesn’t sound like he’s aged a day. (But the photo on the back of the album shows a trio so ugly they could be honorary members of the Traveling Wilburys).
Many good bands are filled with gargoyles. Yes, for instance should have never included photos of the band members because people kept thinking that they were looking at a team photo of the 1988 Boston Celtics.
Although I skip around from song to song on the new Information Society album, I find myself putting it in more than the others. The music is just that exciting and makes me want to explore more of it. I hope all of these acts receive enough success and encouragement with these new projects to keep them artistically inclined because I would love to hear more from all of them. (And I don’t want to wait another twenty years to do it).
It’s the simple fact that none of these acts tried to re-invent themselves that makes these albums good. They did what they do best and had fun doing it. As a result, I’m having fun listening.
Your Pal,
MOG
November 19, 2014
The Locklears return to Northwest Prime
On Monday, November 17, we were interviewed by Lori Ness on her radio show, Northwest Prime.
If you didn’t have a chance to listen to the show live, you can listen to a rebroadcast here.
This was our third appearance on Lori’s show and we had a great time, as always. Lori always has a great lineup of guests and we’re honored to have been included. We send our heartfelt thanks to Lori for her awesome support of our writing and our debut novel, Exposure.
We’re still having a great time connecting with a wider network of bloggers and promoting our book. We’re also back to working on new stories and hope to be able to share some news about these projects soon.
On December 3, we’ll be taking over the Book Boyfriend Junkies page on Facebook at 5 PM Pacific time.
We really hope you can join us! We’re looking forward to the evening, and will send out a reminder post closer to the event.
Take Care,
Morgan & Jennifer
November 16, 2014
A Review of Exposure by Jennifer and Morgan Locklear. 4****
Morgan Locklear & Jennifer Locklear:
Our thanks to Mrs. Kebabs Kindle for this 4 star review of Exposure!
Originally posted on mrskebabskindle:
Jennifer Locklear gave me this book in return for honest review and I can honestly say I adored it. I love the fact that husband and wife wrote this, I hope they had fun whilst writing.
So what’s a publicist to do? Publicist Shaunna Noble is no stranger to the ego-filled dysfunction of Hollywood’s elite, but is she ready for her two biggest clients to turn into her worst nightmare? Kyle Petersen and Michelle Cooper are Hollywood royalty, everyone’s favorite celebrity couple, but while on location filming their new summer blockbuster, Kyle ambushes his wife with divorce papers and orders Shaunna to destroy Michelle in the media. Unwilling to comply, Shaunna spectacularly and publicly quits her job, humiliating Kyle in the process. David Quinn, a struggling actor cast alongside the A-listers, is caught in the crossfire. When pictures surface of David and Michelle out on the town, media and fans…
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November 15, 2014
Random Fan with N. Michaels
This month’s Random Fan is fellow author N. Michaels. Her book, Emerald Eyes, is the first in a series and is now available via Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Eyes-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00GNIOG26/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1415932553&sr=1-1&keywords=emerald+eyes+n.+michaels
Morgan and Jennifer: Tell us a bit about the Emerald Eyes trilogy. And what can readers expect from the second book, Onyx Heart?
N. Michaels: Hello and thank you having me! I’m a big fan of yours. I loved Exposure! :)
The Emerald Eyes Trilogy came to me after the market was over saturated with plots that resembled Fifty Shade of Grey. They all had a domineering man and a virginal, naive woman.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy and am a huge fangirl of E L James (I can’t wait for the movie!), but I was bored of reading the same type of plot over and over in so many different books, and during a conversation with one of my best friends, Ella, I told her as much.
Her response was immediate, “Write what you want to read then.”
And I did.
Katherine Slav, my heroine, appeared in my mind and began telling me her story. And then she told me about Eric Miller, and I was hooked.
Katherine is anything but naive, or shy. She’s confident in herself and her beauty. She doesn’t take BS from anyone, and that includes Eric.
Eric is a mystery, even to me sometimes. He’s very guarded and shares only what needs to be known. I’m still slipping through the cracks of his armor to figure him out.
I began writing during the day while my babies were napping and late night/early morning while the house was asleep.
The moment I reached the middle of the book, I knew how to end it. I leaned back in my chair and whispered, “Oh shit!” I grabbed my phone and called my second best friend, Milana and told her about the ending. She listened until the end and then she was tearing up, telling me I had to publish it.
Milana was with me every step of the way, I would write a few chapters, call her and read them to her. If I didn’t write for a few days she would call me to nag and motivate me. “You can’t leave me hanging like this! What happens after Mark enters the suite?”
She was a source of encouragement and support and still is, and for that, I thank her. ♡
After finishing writing Emerald Eyes, the second book in the trilogy, Onyx Heart began to unfold in my mind. I always take notes and write whatever happens at that moment. I even have a few key scenes from the third and last book written down.
My mind will show me the most important moments, like a slide reel, and when I sit down to write the rest just flows and all those scenes come together.
N. Michaels: Where did the idea for Exposure come from?
Jennifer: One afternoon several years ago, I was spending a day at home doing the laundry. Laundry is never my favorite thing to do, but according to the rest of my family I have some talent for it so I own it.
Not surprisingly, my mind began to wander while I plodded through the chore. As I was trying to carry a particularly large and awkward load of clothing from the utility room, I began thinking about what I’d really like to do with the bundle of clothing obstructing my line of sight as I negotiated some stairs.
That’s when I suddenly pictured Shaunna Noble storming out of Kyle Petersen’s movie set trailer and throwing all his clothes to the fans gathered nearby. And as I folded, hung up and put away the clean laundry, I kept replaying that picture and adding more and more elements to it until an entire scene was completely formed in my imagination.
Morgan and Jennifer: If you could change into any animal (and back) what animal would it be and why?
N. Michaels: If we’re talking about a real animal, it would be a black panther.
Reason: I’ve always loved cats, big or small. It’s the first place I’d run to when I’d go to the zoo, and as a child, I used to sneak stray cats and kittens into our home.
But why the black panther in particular?
That’s because when my late grandfather saw me as a baby for the first time he called me, Miegera, which in Russian slang means wild and rebellious woman, and for some unknown reason, the word reminds me of Bagheera, the black panther (black Indian leopard) who is a fictional character in Rudyard Kipling’s Mowgli stories in The Jungle Book (coll. 1894) and The Second Jungle Book (coll. 1895).
If we’re talking about a mythical creature, I’d have to choose the Phoenix (which is actually one of the symbols for my astrologic sign, Scorpio.)
Reason: immortality and the ability to reinvent myself over and over again. To know with confidence that even after my fire has burned bright and I’m all but ashes, I will be reborn wiser and stronger.
N. Michaels: If you both could choose only one superpower, what would it be?
Morgan: At first, I wanted to pick invisibility but there’s no way to convince you people that it’s not to watch girls undress, so I’m picking invulnerability. If I can’t get hurt, there’s not much I couldn’t or wouldn’t do for mankind.
Jennifer: I thought of the ability to fly, but then I remembered I’m afraid of heights and realized that power would likely end up being wasted on me. So, instead I’d have to say the ability to see the future. I feel more comfortable when I know how things stand. I don’t do well having to wallow in the unknown.
N. Michaels: What was your first impression of each other when you first met?
Morgan: The first thing I liked about Jennifer was her style. She was the kind of girl who wore a pony tail (or for those of you who remember, a banana clip) and converse sneakers. Her blonde hair had a curly Q thing going for it in the front that always reminded me of Egon’s hair in the Ghostbusters cartoon. She was easy to smile and fun to dance with, and by the end of the night I was in love.
Jennifer: The night we met, Morgan was literally the first person I noticed when I walked in the room. He was exuberant and clearly the life of the party. I was nursing a broken heart at the time and had to be literally dragged out of the house by my friend when she suggested a night out. When she saw that I’d noticed Morgan, she made sure we were introduced within the hour. Once we began talking it was clear that he was intelligent, funny as hell and a swoon-worthy gentleman. By the time I returned home, I knew I’d met someone special.
Morgan and Jennifer: We see that (like Jennifer) you a wife, a mother and work full-time. How do you juggle all of this and find time for writing too? Maybe we could trade time management tips.
N. Michaels: At the time of writing Emerald Eyes I was a stay at home mom. I have trust issues when it comes to nannies and babysitters so I decided to stay home with them until they were big enough to go to daycare. I’m not passing judgment on those who do have nannies and babysitters, to each their own.
Currently, I am working full time (I’m actually typing this while on the bus on my way to Manhattan) and I usually write on the bus and on my days off. My full time job is very demanding and unfortunately, it slowed down my progress with Onyx Heart. I’d like to thank all my readers and friends who have been hounding me with emails and private messages regarding Onyx Heart’s release date, thank you for being so freaking wonderful, patient and supportive. ♡
So how do I juggle it all? I have an amazing mom and in-laws, who love my children as much I do. My husband learned to step in and take over when I can’t. Their help is how I manage to stay sane.
Thank you again for having me and for the lovely questions. I had a wonderful time! :)
September 22, 2014
Guest Post on Agents of Romance
Over the weekend, we stopped by Agents of Romance and spoke more personally about living with one another as writers. You can read the full post here:
