Princess Allie's Shiny Kingdom Blog and Updates

Do we really care?

2012-01-13T11:38:00.000-06:00

Every day I check my email & there's at least 10 asking me to check out their blog. Hey, I don't mind. You're reading mine, right? However I've come to understand there's a difference between writing for the hell of it, entertainment and casual views on life. I try to make mine a littel bit of all three. What I'm seeing more and more are blogs telling me. Buy this, don't buy that, like her, hate him, vote for blue, but veto red. Augh, my poor ADD head. As if I don't have enough issues, right?
So here's this weeks brain thinker :) Do we really care about all these blogs and the opinions on them? When do we reach the point that enough is enough? Or do we? Every part of of some people's life is up for public consumption. Geez, I like ya'll and all, but ewww no one's that close.
Originally I was going to post about my experience with the church group and their sins of the flesh discussion. Think i still will it's more fun than wondering why the hell some stranger would choose to share their bowell movements with me. YUCK!
Here's the story:

Originally I was sitting in the corner of my coffee cafe where I go to write those great American porn novels you love so well :) Next thing I know a large group of people are sitting catty corner to me. If you've met me you'd know I paid them no attention. It wasn't until bibles started thunking on the cheap tables that I finally looked up. Lo and behold a church group was meeting for their monthly...?? Yeah, I didn't catch it either. I, being the self centered creature I am, went back to writing. I was having way more fun torturing my new characters than easedropping on church decons.
Picture me happily typing away on my iPad key board when out of nowhere there rose a...gibberish noise.
Fine, I force myself to look up and your friendly neighborhood church group is laying hands and casting demons out. Hey, don't get me wrong. I've got nothing, but admiration for them and respect the hell out people who embrace what they love. Having said that I do not feel it's necessary to cast Satan out over coffee. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I believe there's a time and place for speaking in tongues, casting Satan from a life and eating food with your hands.
None of the above is acceptable while people are drinking coffee, reading books or newspapers or just chatting with a friend.
Sins of the flesh seemed to be the group's topic. You'll never know how very I tempted I was to ask them to crit my last chapter. A chapter that involved...gasp SEX. The naked kind with a man and a woman in the SAME bed.
I restrained myself mainly because I was leaving. Plus, some people have no sense of humor when it comes to their religion. I respect it all, but I also reserve the right to make fun of you as well as myself.
Hmm, think I'm done with my blog's torturous, brain washing session for this week. Next time we'll learn how to fold napkins into swans and take over the world one blog at a time!

Kudos,
Allie

PS: Forgive any spelling errors. I'm typing on my iPad keyboard, but using my iPhone. The screen is so small I'm kind of typing blind here.

My letter to Santa

2011-12-17T12:24:00.000-06:00

Dear Santa,

I'm a giver as you know so this year I'd like most of my Christmas wishes to be all about the needy, down on their luck, impoverished, and mentally unstable. Yes, I mean my friends! How did you know?

For Christmas this year I'd like more new guards.

Yes, my Royal House of Bitches loop ladies have already worn out the ones you gave me last year! Greedy wenches!! You don't want to know what condition I found them in after Nic Austin and Eve Savage finished with them. Needless to say I know the two poster girls for your naughty list! They already come equipped with inmate numbers and orange jumpsuits. Eve especially likes cavity searches!

I'd also like my pretty shiny Royal scepter back from Elece Payne Farberov. The sneaky minx stole it in Ohio. (stolen/given) Would you mind giving Cassandra McGuire a new appendix? The warranty ran out on her last one & was repoed. For Desiree Holt I'd like it a lot if you could find her memory. She can't remember where she left it. Brenna Zinn asked if she could get a clue, so I'd like to request she get one.

Samantha Cayto once asked a freaking minute of peace and quiet. Would you mind giving her the minute full of freaks? Also Sam requested the stupid people on the planet be given their own island. I second that and also ask that you actually move them there. Leaving it to them would not result in rainbows & puppies.
I'm not done yet, Santa, so please quit rubbing your heart and muttering "take me, take me please". It's not very polite. After all I'm just trying to give back like you've always nagged...er I mean asked me to.
**clearing throat**
Now for Margie. She needs her sanity which she said she lost last October and hasn't seen a glimpse of it since. *blinking eyes innocently** What do you mean my fault, Santa? Really how rude!
Cerise Deland asked for things I'm sure Eve would be better able to provide. Things my innocent young royal mind can in no way understand or comprehend. Though I do recommend getting her the oak St. Andrew's cross because the cheap ply wood break with only a good wack or two.

Yes, Santa there is something else. Each of my Royal House of Bitches ladies (no, it's not an oxymoron)would like a Caveman under her bed. Yes, bed not tree. No, I'm not explaining it just deal or else I'll start sending pics of the guards in the after condition. The problem here is I have more ladies (quit laughing...did you just pee on yourself, Santa? Ughhh) Anyway there are more FEMALES then guards even tossing in my gently used ones. Big thanks, Nic & Eve, I said break them in not break them! Santa, how do you feel about a little temporary cloning as I know Alec is pretty popular & I know once Brenna finishes with him...well he'll have grown wiser and more sarcastic.

A new padded wing to the palace, not for me of course, but for those guards and ladies who tap dance a little to close to the sanity line. More ugly guards too. Elece needs to learn to share and trolls make nice jailers too.

So Santa dear, these are my wishes this year. As you tell I'm all about the giving this year and as a result I'll expect the rest of my more...private wishes to be taken care of as well. Thank you, dear old fellow, for taking the time to visit with me and for taking pity on the RHB.

Sincerely,
Princess Allie

Ruler of the Sparkly Kingdom
P.S. Don't forget the batteries!!

The Christmas Turkey Battle!

2011-12-01T01:08:00.005-06:00

I love this time of the year mostly because food contains no calories in the month of December. Really, I'm sure there a study being done somewhere to prove this very important point. Most people will go on and on about the importance of being surrounded by friends and family. Me? I drink more thanks to said friends and family. Then I hide out in the darkest corner and wait for the mentally impaired to leave. Yeah, I'm not all that fluffy or jolly after hours surrounded by family. However, I honestly love hanging out with the short crowd. The 5-13 age bracket are my favorite, old enough to know what's going on & still young enough to believe.
So while the 'adults' are doing the coffee thing and trying to one up each other with their yearly news letters I hang with the ankle bitters. Before Christmas we take the presents, stack them up by name, then by size and finally by sound. It's fun and makes me feel like a kid again.
Once many moons ago as a innocent, pure and sweet soul of fourteen or fifteen I wanted to surprise my parents. My surprise, you ask? Cooking the turkey for Christmas! Yep, it was a brillant idea even though I'd never cooked one before. I thought how hard could it possibly be? Ahh the stupidity of the young :)
There it was a big twenty pound turkey in all its frozen glory. The time period to cook the bird was short. My parents worked so I had to get it done before they arrived home from work. As an astoundingly creative teen I thought of the perfect way to defrost my monstrous bird. Yank open the door on the dishwasher & stuff it in. Smart girl I am I pressed the gentle cycle, tossed the white frozen bundle in, hipped checked it closed & patted myself on the back.
Ten minutes into my amazing plan the dishwasher bucked, jerked and clucked. Yep, I thought the bird was fighting back. I rip open the door only to find bent metal and a still frozen bird. Obliviously not strong enough to conquer my turkey I grabbed it from the dishwasher and spun around waiting for brillance to strike again.
WHAM! Lighting bolts!! I rush to the laundry room & stood debating. Washer or dryer?? Hot water would defrost the bird faster. So off to poor innocent machine I went. Only to discover my bird wouldn't fit. Shoving, pushing, & slicking it with Snuggle fabric softener didn't help either. Hey, the thing was wrapped in pastic what could it hurt? Giving up that particular fork in the road I decided maybe the dryer was the answer after all. After flinging open the door I popped the now slightly mangled bird in and slammed the door shut. Set the heat timer to medium and hit the start button with an angry jab. The battle had now become personal! Me against the dead bird and so far the bird was winning.
I waited impatiently, listening to the thunk thunk of the drum as it connected to the frozen fowl. Everything going according to my masterplan! I walked away feeling triumphant and victorious! Just as I crossed the threshold the once seemingly innocuous dryer went postal. It bucked, groaned and hit the ground so hard I thought the floor would crack. Fearing my mother's reaction should I break the dryer (I was hoping to blame the dishwasher on my brother) I ran across the room, hit the power button and nothing happen. The dryer was alive and PISSED! Terror became my new name as I punched the damn button over and over again with no different results. Finally as my heart rate tripled I reached behind the now moaning monster and yanked out it's life blood. The electric cord! and all at once silence descended until the door popped open revealing my STILL frozen dead bird!
A smart person would have admitted defeat. A smart person would have already called and confessed her sins. A smart person would have packed a bag and hit the road before her mother came home to the destruction and possible death of two major appliances. I however am not a smart person. As I said this was war. The bird would not beat me. It would not be put back in the giant outside freezer only to mock me to the other frozen foods. I'd never be able to look another Popsicle in the face.

Time to pull the big girl panties up and show the turkey I meant business. Wrapping each hand in two oven mitts apiece (cause by now I'm thinking the bird just might still be alive and possessed) I take it to the ultimate destination for death. My mom's brand new microwave! A device bought only a few weeks ago in honor of the upcoming holiday and all the impending guests. Yes, I thought to myself, this machine so shiny and with so many fun buttons, would conquer my opponent.
Feeling smug and pretty proud of myself I shove the bird in, slam the door closed before turkey could try to make a break for it and hit the high power button then start.
Oh yeah, this was so going to work. I wanted to pat myself on the back. I wanted to crow with my vicious victory. I wanted to rub my brother and sister's faces in my brillance and all the brownie points cooking this bird would get me. Mentally I ignored the other destruction I'd left in my wake. Thinking about it would have interfered with my victory lap around the kitchen island. Some time around the second boogie lap I head the strangest noise. A pop, kind of quiet so maybe I didn't really hear anything? A litter slower now, but still dancing and rejoicing I continued to Snoopy Dance my way around the room.
Then it happened. The turkey came back for revenge! I'd just made a pass around the microwave when all hell broke loose. The door flew open, the turkey flew out headed right where my dancing self had been two seconds before, but instead of hitting me the bird soared across the room, smashed into the opposite wall and came bounding back. It crashed into the not so new looking microwave then finally thankfully tumbled to the floor, smoking. When the smoke finally cleared I saw bits and pieces of turkey meat littering the kitchen floor and me. Covered head to toe in turkey guts I looked around at the destruction, stunned and suddenly very very afraid.
My once oh so brillant plan lay smoking and popping at my feet and there wasn't a single sibling in the house to blame. Needless to say my mother had a few choice words for me even as I tried to defend myself. Somehow "the turkey made me do it" didn't fly with her and I was stuck as her kitchen slave for the next month. My father took one look at the room and quickly left, hiding in his office with the TV on...LOUD. Only in later years would I learn he'd hidden himself away so quickly because he'd burst out laughing.
It's a story that gets told every year at Christmas time around my family. It always starts with "You remember the time Allie started a war with the frozen turkey & the turkey won?"
To this day I reply "The victor ended up eaten by the dog, didn't he?"

I wish you a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, holiday or whatever you wish celebrate this time of year. Enjoy those who love you and those you love. Learn to tolerate or ignore those you don't.

Until next time

Kudos,
Allie

Oh yes, forgot to mention head over to http://blissemas.co.uk for a chance to win a KINDLE!! Fun, huh?

Saying goodbye to Club Botticelli w Romancing Recee

2011-11-06T12:19:00.000-06:00

This month is pretty big for me. I have three releases including my first self-pub, Slippery When Wet, the second book in my paranormal series, Poseidon's Fortune. But that's not what this blog is about. With the release tomorrow of Romancing Recee I'll be saying goodbye to my Club B ladies. It's a sad yet thrilling time for me. I've had a blast with each of my girls, Olivia, Emma, Briley, Trinity & Recee. I sincerely hope you've enjoyed their journey with me. So to ensure my girls go out with a bang I'm giving away a BIG Club B basket. What do you have to do to enter? Simply send your receipt to Allie@Allie-Standifer.com & you'll be entered to win an Amazon giftcard, t-shirts, coffee mug, shiny sippy cup & more.

Recee is the baddest, meanest & most clinically insane of all her friends. She's given her heart to only four people, her friends and she has no intention of trusting a faithless man. When Brock shows up in her life, Recee makes sure the big, bad ex-solider knows she doesn't need him or his protection.
Brock's never met a more intense, beautiful, stubborn, medication needing female. When he steps in to save Recee from potential danger he never expects the crazy woman to turn on him.
It's a case of rock meeting hard place & who will ultimately win in the end. Because Brock's not about to give up until he's finished Romancing Recee

Kudos,
Allie

Baby, it's cold outside!

2011-10-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite time of year. When the temperature finally drops below 100 & we can pull out the thick sweaters, soft soft & cozy flannels. Granted I'm not looking my sexy Princess best, but even a royal castle can get cold. The guards are busy preparing for the first big cold front, gathering wood and playing keep a-way with Elece and her stealthy ninja ways.

Aside from the numerous benefits of cold weather, less sweat & stink from others :) A chill in the air makes me want to burrow down in front of my fireplace with hot coca and my laptop. Yep, Jack Frost puts me in a writing mood & I love it. My to-write list is piling up along with upcoming releases. Wow, where did the year go?

Also since we're talking about Frosty and nipping at noses, (just hush & follow along) I want to know your favorite winter fantasy. The naughty & nice ones. It can involve you, you & your main squeeze, or maybe even an extra guest star or two.

I'll go first :)

My favorite winter daydream is to be in the middle of nowhere in a fairytale cottage complete with flushy toilets, hot/cold water electricity, large fireplaces, and Internet connection. Hey, I'm still a princess & need my flushies!!
My little/large cottage would have a deck on back complete with fireplace, hot tub and outdoor living area. There would be floor to ceiling windows over looking the deck with a great view of the mountains. Inside there'd be a kitchen (someone has to cook, just not me) the living room with heated hardwood floors, a faux white bear rug and thick soft subtle leather furniture. With the lights turned off, the fire at our backs we'd (the guards & I) would watch the snow fall before they took turns giving me hot oil massages. It's good to be Princess!
I'm not sure why, but winter always makes me hibernate like a bear. I don't go anywhere unless I'm drastically needed or shiny objects are involved.

The point of this rambling blog? To make me feel better #1 & #2 to give you darlings an opportunity to share your chilly frisky snow-bound fantasies with me!

Let's get started!!

The New And Improved Kingdom

2011-10-24T01:13:00.000-05:00

Allie handed over the keys to the kingdom. Can you believe it? She must have been hitting the chocolate wine. Bwahahaha...I had so much fun playing this weekend. As you can see, things have changed around here!

I also created an entirely new website befitting the sparkly princess 'cause frankly, her old site... <yawn> And the book page on the old site...<shudders>

Check it out http://www.alliestandifer.com Can't wait to hear what y'all think!

Now everything is fresh, new and of course very shiny. I'm still putting on the finishing touches but for the most part its finished. WOOHOO!

Nic, Goddess Of All Things Visual

It's new, it's fun & it's coming!

2011-10-10T04:57:00.002-05:00

What happens when seven sassy women get together for a little wine, a few laughs and some inspiration?
YOU get 7 Sassy Tales!
Each of them coming to you on the same day, at the same time for the same Sassy price of 99 cents!
And if you read each one, you get to answer the questions and be entered in a drawing to win a Kindle FIRE!
Need the rules and regs?
Of course, you do. Go here: http://toys4ustales.blogspot.com
More than that, you need to see the covers, sigh over the men and the stories and then tell your friends about TOYS-4-US series, coming November 1 to digital stores!
So who are the Sassy Seven?
Allie Standifer, http://www.allie-standifer.com/

Brenna Zinn, http://www.brennazinn.com/

Cerise DeLand, http://cerisedeland.com/

Desiree Holt, http://www.desireeholt.com/

Nicole Austin, http://www.nicoleaustin.net/

Regina Carlysle, http://reginacarlysle.com/

Samantha Cayto, http://www.samanthacayto.com/

And you must go here to see all the FABULOUS COVERS: http://toys4usbooks.wordpress.com
Come back for nibbles of each of the wonderful stories about 7 women who don't take no for an answer from the men who have, until lately, eluded them.

Almost here...

2011-10-09T17:04:00.000-05:00

Yep, it's almost time for the big secret to be revealed! Are you excited? I know I am. I can't say more or else I'll never see my tiaras again. SOOOO check back sooooooooonnnnnnn & I'll spill everything :)

Body Farm Donations?

2011-09-18T16:23:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm watching too much History Channel on TV. However just because I'm watching it doesn't mean it's not a good question. Ughhh, I've got a weak stomach anyway & this is making me green.

1st why do people donate their bodies to the Body Farm in TN? I'm not trashing it. I'm honestly curious. I understand giving your corpse to science for study and to learn about different diseases. What confuses the hell out me is why people give their body to a place that will leave it out in the woods to watch bugs and other creepies eat it. Maybe I'm just really selfish? It's not like I'll have a clue what's happening to my sparkly corpse after death.

2nd Now their talking about hospital toxic waste. This company picks up the red garbage cans with all the warning & dangers signs on it. Did not know this, but at hospitals this red box contains everything from legs & arms, fat from liposuction to after birth and organs. This disposal company refuses to take heads or torsos for moral reasons. Huh? Explain please. And is there a company out there dealing with only heads & torsos? If so what do they do with them?

For some reason tossing a leg or arm seems callous to me. Shouldn't you bury it or at least say a proper goodbye? Not trying to be funny, but seriously what's Emily Post say about this in her Good Manners book?

There are so many things I didn't want to know that I now do. I need to turn the TV off and go back to my cave. Before I do here's another horrifying thought branded in my brain. I'm giving it to you so we can share the pain :)

The #1 activity for solo drivers in their cars is picking the nose. Yep, think about that next time you meet a business appt as he/she steps out of the car and holds their hand out to shake. AUGHHH, I'm off to drown in my strawberry/lemonade antibacterial lotion.

Kudos,

Allie

Romance books saved my life...

2011-08-07T12:42:00.000-05:00

OKay maybe not literally though there are days when I wonder. The tragedy of losing our servicemen & women in the helicopter crash yesterday makes me remember exactly why I write romance. There's always a happy ending, the bad guy/gal is the only one to die & love conquers all. Why wouldn't I write & read romance considering the awful things going on in the world? Yes good things happen to, but you never hear about those things or people on the news.

So in my own warped manner I'm going to explain why romance novels, movies, games & music kick the crap out of every other genre in regards to sales, fans & uses.

Bad day? Pop in Pretty Woman, pick up Susan Elizabeth Phillips book, or listen to the beautiful voice of Adele. Three different aspects of one genre all leading to you feeling better or at least smiling every once in a while.

I think the thing I love most about romance is I don't have to brace myself for heartache and/or loss. My happy ending is coming, I know it & I depend of the author to give it to me. On the flip side I curse every writer who killed off the hero or heroine at the end of their book. HELLO??? So I cuss them out, throw the book against wall or in the case of an ebook jab my finger at it over and over again. It's one thing I will never never never understand. You go through so much trouble to create this character, to literally bring them to life with quirks, character traits & emotions. You and your reader become attached them BAM see ya Sam, so sorry you melted into a pile of blue ooze. Or shit out of luck, Sian, but you HAD to sacrifice yourself for the greater good or at least to save your love who will now live a half life, morning you and cursing themselves daily for being the cause of your death. Yeah, that sounds happily ever after to me...NOT!

Anyone remember where I started to go with this? Yeah me neither. The point is, if there is one, is romance should be the one safe solid 100% guaranteed happily ever after. We should start page one knowing without a doubt that somehow, someway the author will guide us through the frogs bombs, exploding turkeys, & cologne dunked shriveled dick exs to reach the rainbows, puppies & hot sweaty HEA sex. We deserve it, we've earned it & we want it!!

Now I have to go torture a few characters then lead them to their happy place filled with chocolate, Diet Coke w vanilla & the most mind blowing orgasms a person can imagine. But first they have to earn it :)

Now to figure out a way to make frogs into exploding landmines.....

Kudos,
Allie

I hate you...wanna be friends?

2011-08-04T11:25:00.000-05:00

It's a small world, no really it is. The romance writers world is small. Word gets around. What else do you expect from a group of 3,000+ women & some men? No, I'm not trashing women. I'm saying I expect a certain amount of cattiness at every conference I go to. I'm catty to a certain extent. However, real bitchiness does more than make you look back in our little secular community, it'll drop you book sales, lose readers and alienate your publisher. Sounds dramatic doesn't it, but it's true. I've seen it happen with my own eyes and not through a friend of my neighbor's son's girlfriend's cousin dog walker.

In my pre-published days I went to my very first RWA National conference. Enjoyed myself until I saw and heard a NY writer trashing another writer. We're not talking catty "Oh did you see her knockoff LV bag?" Nope, I'm talking dip your head in the sewer type filth. The first writer trashed the other writer's characters, plot, covers then moved on to more personal topics like writer 2's looks, clothes, hair style and so on. Rarely am I without something to say, but this vomit of jealously left me speechless. Then I heard a soft sniff behind me and...yes you guessed it writer 2 was sitting on a couch behind these large fern plant things hearing everything the scanky two-bit writer had to say. The funny part of all this is I knew and read writer 2, love her work & still buy it to this day. She's a NY time best-seller now. It couldn't have happened to a nicer person.
Karma being the bitch she is took writer 1 down. Since the conference this writer was let go from her publishing house, dropped by her agent & is now lucky to publish one book a year from her backlist. Now, I'm not saying she deserved everything she go, but maybe this experience will make her think twice before opening her mouth again.

What's the point of all this? Easy there is none. People just have a tendency to tick me off with their self righteous, aren't I perfect crap. Well that and the over used plot of every other character is tortured and treated like crap by the world at large. Stick a diamond pin in me 'cause I'm done. Done with the tired line, the poor me look at my rough life plot. Where the heck are these people living because where I'm from we don't treat people like fashion accessories (I do, but I'm allowed... royalty and all) Yes, people suck & bad guys are all over the place. However good people are out there too. My previous EDJ sent me into the worst of the worst neighborhoods. I'm talking bad bad places where sometimes the cops didn't even go. Don't ask, I'm not that bright. So I'm in the 'hood or wherever bad people surrounding me when from nowhere good people rise up and correct the wrongs.
So please forgive me if I don't torture my characters with abusive childhoods, vengeful ex-lovers or murdered families. Reality sucks enough, why would I add it to my fiction? Granted my heros and heroines are a bit warped, have only a vague idea of sanity, but at least they don't live their imaginary lives beating themselves or the love of their life over past issues.
As you might be able to tell I'm not big on self-pity. It gets in the way of my ADD & obsession with all things shiny & sparkly.
Now I need to go torture my current WIP with some green Jello & super glue!

Kudos,
Allie

My BDSM experience & Angry Readers

2011-07-24T16:29:00.000-05:00

I had planned to write a totally different blog on this rainy Sunday, but with the release of Naughty Nature, things have changed. I've had angry emails and comments from readers living the lifestyle. So I felt it was time to address them and close the topic once and for all.

Here's my problem about getting angry comments and e-mail dealing with the whole BDSM club. I hid nothing from the owner or the members of the club. In no way, shape or form, did I intend to belittle, humiliate or misrepresent those involved in a true Dom/sub relationship. To those of you who'v called me a hypocrite, ignorant, or poser I ask you read the blog again. Not once did I ever claim to be an expert on the lifestyle. I merely wrote my experience, not trying to distance myself or make excuses, it was what it was and I don't feel the need to apologize. The club members and owner knew exactly who I was and why I was there. I never pretended to be anything other than a romance writer wanting to see the reality of BDSM playroom and open rooms. That night

I learned all about the trust and respect and patience which goes into forming a healthy relationship between the Dom and his/her sub. The subspace I've always heard about in reference to this type of relationship I saw for myself. There really are no words to describe the sheer perfection or peace in the sub's expression. Jealously was only one of the emotions I experienced when I gazed at the erotic yet powerful expression. The ability to trust someone so much with everything you are. I'm not talking about the whips or chains. There's something so beautiful in giving everything of yourself into another person's keeping and knowing they'll never let you down, hurt you (within reason) or ridicule you or your needs.

So why have so many people had a problem with my lighter take on the club experience? There were no accusations of abuse, no whining about people being mean or not taking no for an answer. In fact I believe I stated more than once how welcoming and respectful everyone I met was.
Is it the humor that bothers you? Me? My viewpoint? Seriously if the club members, Doms and subs alike, didn't have a problem with me, why should you?

My friends living the lifestyle, I know both Doms & subs, read my blog, laughed and moved on. They had no problem with my view on that night. In fact I sent Naughty Nature to several different people living the life. They pointed out my errors, made suggestions and said the experience would be possible if the heroine was as trouble prone as I am. In other words it could happen in another world or dimension where such a richly furnished magical club exists.

And that's my response to the angry e-mails & comments. Quit looking for insults where none exist. To everyone else I'll be back soon with another post this time a little less angry and a lot more on the lighter side.

Kudos,
Allie

Get a Little Naughty

2011-07-22T12:33:00.000-05:00

Here's my contribution to the 1-800-DOM-help series. If you read my blog then you'll have no trouble recognising parts of the BDSM club I visited in LA. So get it, read it & be sure to tell me what you think.

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9461-naughty-nature.aspx

NAUGHTY NATURE
Release Date July 22
Ellora's Cave
ISBN: 9781419935190

BLURB:
Aria’s always had a secret need to give up her normally tight control, but she’d never dared to act on it. Until one night a mysterious card with 1-800-DOM-help appears in a very personal place. For the first time in her life Aria’s taking a chance on fate and the promise of a stranger to discover her every veiled desire.

ER doctor Mac Hudson has always known who he is and what he wants. Now he’s looking for a sub to explore all the erotic cravings and fantasies he wants to share. One hidden glimpse of Aria and Mac’s ready to claim the petite sub in every way he can.

A single night of passion is all she expected, but with her handsome Dom she got so much extra. Now Mac’s asking for more and Aria doesn’t know if her naughty nature is up to handling a dominant alpha male for more than a single encounter.

EXCERPT:
Chapter One
The expensive, elegant yet unadorned card felt heavy between the smooth skin of her fingers. Aria knew it was only her imagination and anticipation giving it more importance than the business card deserved.
1800-DOM-help
The who, how and why remained unanswered. Aria knew the where. Right smack dab in the middle of her personal tool box, under her bed. Normally something appearing out of nowhere would freak her out, sending her running for the nearest police department, but interest kept her feet firmly planted in her apartment.
Should she? Shouldn’t she? Nice girls didn’t want to be dominated, did they? Good girls never fantasized about being taken in the ass, right? A normal woman wouldn’t want to submit to a man, give him complete control over her body? Let him pleasure her anyway he wanted?
Shit! Why was this so hard for her? At thirty-four Aria Dunson knew her mind and lived a generally guilt-free existence. But something about this card made her yearn for all the wicked dreams to turn into reality. To let the fantasies that only lived in her mind out to become actuality.
“Screw it,” she muttered and picked up her phone with slightly shaking fingers punched in the number.
“Thank you for calling 1-800-DOM-help. This is the Operator. How many I be of assistance?”
The male voice that floated over the line was smooth and smoky, with just the right touch of sexual innuendo.
“Hello?” The Operator asked when she didn’t say anything.
“Um…hi.”
“Hi, back. May I help you with something?” Amusement rang his sexy voice.
Right, she almost smacked her head with the cell phone. “Yes, I received your card and wanted to get a little more information.”
There that sounded a little better and more like her normal take-charge self.
“Ahh, I see. Are you interested in the role of a Domme or a submissive?”
“Oh no… I mean...crap…umm… Dominated. Submissive. Or at least I think so. You see I’m not too sure, but I do know I’m not calling any man master or licking feet. Oh and I have no desire to eat dinner off the floor in a bowl marked Fido and I don’t share well so there’s no chance I’d want to be passed around like a large party tray.” She babbled nervously, thinking of all the bondage sites she’d looked over, late at night with a glass of wine in hand.
The Operator’s husky chuckle caused things to tingle low in her stomach. “I’m here to ensure you make a wise decision, Ms….”

Nicole Austin is My Hero!!

2011-07-20T10:15:00.000-05:00

Seriously, people, she's our artwork CEO & resident genius. And not only can she make covers hot enough to make you sweat, but my girl writes a romance so intense you'll never forget it. Now go check out her latest and greatest release in Corralled Series, Brock's Hellionn in Print!! Her latest e-release

http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9468-brocks-hellion.aspx

Corralled Series - Book 4

Brock is cool, calm and in control. Except when it comes to the feisty hellion who pushes all his buttons for the sheer fun of watching his patience snap. Far worse than the intense desire to choke her is the alarming, all-consuming compulsion to tie Tink to his bed and fuck her into next week.

Tink is no wimpy damsel waiting for a big strong man to rescue her or take over her life. Oh, hell no. She does her own thing, her own way, when she damn well feels like it. The last thing she wants or needs is some overbearing man bossing her around. Though she’d like to torture him with pleasure.

One night of explosive passion pushes Brock’s restraint past the limit. And hidden behind the cold-hearted bitch, he discovers a woman who longs to surrender to a man she can trust.

Come hell or high water, he’s going to be that man.

This book contains a smokin’-hot scene involving three men and one lucky woman.

Make Mine A Double
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9454-make-mine-a-double.aspx

A sequel to My Greatest Fantasy

No doubt about it, Kaylie Ward’s a loser magnet. So she swears off men. But give her some tequila to wash away those man troubles and she’s more than ready for a hot ménage fantasy. Somehow, dream and reality collide when she wakes up with two naked hunks in bed with her—not that she’s complaining.

Best friends, business partners, lovers—Max Lockhart and Brayden Sinclair share everything, including women. Like a bad country song, they went looking for love in all the wrong places, only to find it waiting for them at home, in their bed no less.

Kaylie’s plans for the future revolve around having a “normal” life. Going after it means living with a broken heart, unless she can keep her double order of beefcake and have a real family too.

Cerise Deland, awesome roomie & amazing writer

2011-07-20T01:01:00.000-05:00

I don't love her just because she's the perfect roommate. Lubs her 'cause she's a hot hot writer who melts my chocolate every time.

Here's the link to her latest release. Trust me you're going to want to get your hands on this one. Then your going to want to get your hands on your snuggle bunny :)

http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Starlings-Stockings-ebook/dp/B005DA0200/ref=sr_1_27?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1311141479&sr=1-27

Behind The Doors of The BDSM Club

2011-07-13T17:42:00.000-05:00

Most of you have read this, but some didn't catch it over at the other blog. Soooo due to persistent demand for your reading pleasure I give you....(drum roll) my personal experience at an LA BDSM club.

Almost three weeks ago I was in LA for the RT convention, as most of you know. What you also might have guessed is I made a special fieldtrip along with three friends to a BDSM club. Yep, you read right. I went to a D/s playroom. If you want to hear it all continue to read. If you’re afraid I’ll spill some freaky stuff then definitely read on.
First off I will admit to having a few martinis before we grabbed our cab to head out. The drive took around twenty-minutes or so before our sweet driver stopped. Since we didn’t see a sign for the club nor could we find a plaque for the address our driver hesitated to leave us on our own in North Hollywood. The ever-adventurous Desiree Holt took matters into her own capable hands and walked straight into the nearest business. It just happened to be another club that advertised in bright neon colors NUDE GIRLS LIVE GIRLS NUDE. Yep, Des walked in grabbed the bouncer by the arm and pretty much sweet-talked her way into finding out where we needed to go. Poor guy looked like he didn’t know what hit him. Most people are that way after a Des-attack.
Turns out the club was tucked in behind this little white brick facade. You’d never find it if you didn’t know where you were going. No loud music, no shrieks, no blood flying, no sounds of whips, chains or whatever else you might be thinking. After promising our driver we knew what we were doing (LMAO) we turned to go in and found a little black gate that we unlatched and walked through.
The first thing I saw was two smiling, perfectly normal looking people. They were very gracious, courteous and friendly. We each handed over our ids then there were some forms we had to initial and sign. Thankfully we had a lawyer in the group. I waited until she read it, nodded her head and I happily scrawled my signature along the numerous lines. Why the forms? Because the owners want to make sure people know the reality of what they’re walking into. This isn’t a yuppie bar or some goth/vamp dungeon. This place was about understanding and catering to a special need of some people. Not a bad, evil or wrong need, just different. My philosophy of life? If you’re over twenty-one, single, consenting then go for it, baby. So long as you respect your partner’s boundaries and needs it’s all good.
So we past the gate, sign our forms, hand over our money and follow our guide into a very new world.
The ride side of the courtyard is taken up with a long portable table. The kind people use is church or bingo halls. Plain, serviceable and easy to clean. On top of the table sits duffle bags, suitcases and leather satchels. Having my first and last intelligent thought of the night, I immediately understand (it’s later confirmed) that these bags are brought by the members. They contain whatever toys or props they intend to play with at the club. No one uses or borrows anyone else’s stuff, I think it’s considered bad form. Can’t say I blame them. I’ll keep my cooties and you keep yours…it really works for me.
A bright cheery fire was the focal point as a group of people sat around, sipping water and chatting about the cold weather and the Lakers. Major point of interests No alcohol or liquor is sold here. Nothing to impair anyone’s judgment. However bottles of water, Diet Coke, Coke, Sprite and that type is free to anyone who wants it. I grabbed a bottle of water and wandered. Remember I lost my voice so I couldn’t talk to these people.
This was not my brightest idea and it wouldn’t be the last stupid thing I did this night.
So I wandered around while my so-called friends deserted me. We all made a bathroom trip when we arrived then BAM it’s Allie: party of one.
I, umm inhaled tobacco, while wandering. Listened to a few conversations and wondered why these people kept looking at me. Doing a quick body check, made sure everything was tucked out of sight, zipped up or buttoned, I couldn’t understand why these people were staring. Thought it might be my flaring tobacco so I moved to the other side of the white brick wall. Nope, all eyes followed me. Now I really started to get self-conscience. I’d showered before we came so I knew it couldn’t be that. Finally the genius that I am turned to look over my shoulder at the brick wall & low and behold there was the answer.
Turns out they used the wall as a movie screen. My butt was placed smack in the middle of their adult content film show. When I looked up my head ended up perfectly placed beneath the actor’s ‘happy spot’. Talk about being an idiot. Needless to say I scooted away from the wall and to the safety of a nice iron table.
Meanwhile I kept looking around thinking this is nothing like I thought it would be. Where’s the shouting, the pain, the blood, the black leather? I found out, but that’s later in the story.
I need to backtrack here a minute. Thursday night as we all sat in the bar together and talked about coming to this club. One of our members said “You know, if anyone gets hit on or invited to play I bet it’ll be Allie.” As this person knows more than I do about the scene I merely laughed, drank and wondered if she’d share whatever drugs currently pumping through her system.
She was RIGHT. As I sat outside by myself, after being cruelly deserted by my no-longer-good-friends, a man comes up to me. Again, perfectly normal looking, good looking even. Older than me, but still well dressed in slacks, button down shirt and leather shoes. He comments on the weather. I, having no voice or almost no voice, nod my head like an idiot and manage to whisper “Uh huh”. He tries to talk to me, poor thing, and I’m sitting there nodding because I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to be doing. Finally something he says catches my attention away from the porn flick playing to the side of me.
“Do you play?” the man asks me.
Several things run through my mind.
No, I don’t play an instrument. I have no musical talent, as my second grade piano teacher will attest to.
No, I’ve never gotten the hang of basketball. Too many people running after me is not my idea of a good time.
No, I suck at poker because I have no poker face.
Finally I manage to mutter, “Depends on the game.” Thinking maybe he had Battleship, a craps table or even bingo cards hiding somewhere.
My sign “I’m a moron and lick bus windows” will be arriving shortly.
This poor man just shakes his head, sends me a wink and tells me I can find him later.
Yeah, I know it’s amazing they let me out of the house at all.
When reality dawns on me I take off to the last place I saw my so-called friends before they left me. The first room you enter is called a private room. There are two entrances and one bathroom. BTW everything is lit with red or blue light bulbs, including the bathrooms. Weird I know, but I think it helps set the mood and give everything a surreal factor.
So I enter the private room, thanking every deity known to man that’s it’s empty. ‘Cause my luck…I’d walk straight into another situation and proceed to lick windows. In this room there are several tools. A large six or seven foot piece of wood drilled into the wall about six feet up with sets of rings on each side. A queen size bed is position in the center with nothing but a fitted sheet. Across from the bed is what looks like an old fashioned holding stock. You know what I mean two large pieces of wood the top lifts up so you can put you hands in the holes then locks down. This way your body is bent over and you cannot move anything but you lower, most likely naked half.
All the while I can hear erotic music playing or at least sometimes its erotic. At other times it’s Nine Inch Nails pounding out a beat you can feel thrumming through your skin. When you try to take a deep breath you inhale the spice of incense burning. Mix that with the low mood lighting and you have a very potent combination.
This place not only is looking to seduce you body, but the rest of your senses as well in a very intense way.
Three steps leading to the big playroom are to the left of the bed and I make my way over there. I open the door, step through and stop because what I’m seeing is nothing I’ve ever experienced.
A man is strapped to a cross with his back to me, naked. While a woman lashes at him with a very scary looking whip. He cries out, but instead of moving away from her he arches back to her.
Another woman is lying face down on leather padded sawhorse, naked, getting spanked by an equally naked man with a very large paddle.
During all these observations I’m frantically looking for my ship deserting friends and not seeing a single one of them. This makes me very very edgy ‘cause remember I can’t really talk and I’ve had two very good, but potent Lemon-Drop martinis.
The music continues to pump out, loud but not so loud I can’t hear the murmur of conversation around me. I stand there, trying to look like I know what I’m doing when out of nowhere I feel a hand wrap around my arm and tug me backwards. Back into a dark corner I didn’t see and where I’m not sure I should be going.
Then I’m pulled back into the dark and pushed into a lush leather chair with Samantha Cayto’s confused face looking down at me.
“Everything okay?” The hussy had the nerve to ask me.
Remember NO voice.
I gave her the evil frog eye death glare, which she promptly shrugged off and turned her back to me. Scanky bitch (now said with love) I thought, but took the illusion of safety to finally look around me.
This is where I found the screams, moans, leather, bondage and everything I expected and a hell of a lot more.
Desiree Holt, looking way too interested for my sanity, sat directly to my right her eyes glued to the center platform of the club. The wooden floor covered a roughly ten by twelve area and was so currently occupied.
Two women, one in nothing but her underwear lay on a flat table, arms above her head, legs straight down. The other woman, older with her hair in a high ponytail, played a flogger with such expertise I knew years of practice had gone into it. She wielded the flogger, whips, feathers you name it with skill. Sometimes she managed two whips at the same time, each flying through the air so fast you could hear the leather sing through the air, above the erotic rhythm of the music.
The sub only moaned when the tools were applied to her skin. No skin broke under this mistress hand, only the blush of heated skin appeared wherever the leather landed. What surprised me the most in this D/s interaction were the touches of the Mistress. The ponytailed Dom frequently ran a gentle hand along her sub’s back, shoulders and would lean down to whisper something in the other woman’s ear. Sometimes they’d share a laugh or look, but you could tell there was a connection between them that went beyond the games played in the room.
A man’s loud scream broke my concentration away from the duo in the middle. Looking to the left of me I saw an older man, naked, manacled by his wrist and being flogged by a woman dressed in a black leather cat-suit. This wasn’t the same give and take of the last couple. What I was looking at boggled my mind. The Mistress was waylaying on this guy’s ass…well not just his ass but you get my meaning. The harder she hit him the more he screamed and the more anxious he was to get closer to her.
As I said before I’m all for whatever floats your boat, but OUCH. Not so much for me. If I’m getting spanked it better be because I’m losing a game, not having a four inch paddle taken to my bare ass. Hell I even glare at my doctor when he sticks a needle in my booty. Me and my ass say thanks, but I’ll pass on that experience.
Determined not to look, but like a train accident, my eyes keep drifting back there I see one last thing that I’m determined to never see again.
A big ass knife. The kind you always picture being mugged with is now in the Dom’s hand. Granted I knew knife play sometimes came into the picture, but never in a million drugged out fantasies would I have come up with this.
BAK (Big ass knife) held in the, please dear God, steady head of the female Dom stroked down this man’s very happy penis. It trailed down over every rigid vein until it stopped at his happy tip. Then then….oh my eyes…
She put the BAK right into the happy hole & PUSHED! Hell yes you read right. The sub let his Mistress put the sharp blade into his only hope for urinating naturally for the rest of his life. And that was it for me and the happy scary couple from hell.
Time to focus on action closer & less scary with no knives. And what do you know I found our own Lynne Connely into the middle of a ménage.
Brief overview so you can get the picture. I’m tucked in the corner chair with Sam sitting in front of me, a wall behind me & to my right, Desiree Holt directly on my left and Lynne right next to her on her left. These are big comfy chairs we’re sitting in. The kind you can curl up and sleep in on a rainy afternoon. It never, not once, dawns on me why these chairs are so plush or so big. (Told you I had my last smart thought of the night.) Until I see what’s going on over at my partner in crimes corner.
To Lynne’s left a woman in more black leather, bustier & short short short skirt with thigh highs. She’s got one man on a leash & another in her lap. Much kissing, touching and groping are going on. Fine by me, my retina’s are stilling burning from the whole knife issue. OUCH!
Anyway I’m looking at Lynne, Lynne is looking anywhere, but at the threesome next to her. Me, I love to stir things up. So when I happen to catch the eye of one of the Gropey McGrope, I give ‘em a wink and tilt my head Lynne’s way.
LMAO…Hey they left me. It’s only right I get a little vindication out of all this. Yes, I am that kind of girl.
The next thing I know the two men have spread the Dom’s thighs WIDE open, her skirt rides way too high and their heads are buried in her lush woman’s heat (snicker). Remember the legs wide open part? Yeah, one leg is now over Lynne’s chair pretty much in her lap. The longer this goes on, the more excited the Dom gets, the more action her leg give Lynne. It’s tossing, turning, flapping and generally all over the place.
What does the plucky Brit do now, you ask? Simple she ignores it. Meanwhile I’m snickering behind my water bottle and mentally rubbing my hands in glee. Paybacks are such a bitch.
And so is karma because the next instant Sam looks back and me then motions for me to follow her. Umm okay, didn’t we just do this and I got in trouble. Yes, we did, but since I’m a window licker I follow her.
Seriously folks, I’m not stupid. My parents had my iq tested as child just to make sure. Apparently I’m just one of those people that’s so smart their a dumbass. Either that or the incense was getting me high.
Sam led the way through the big playroom. Sounds of moans, screams, groans and wet sucky noises I refuse to identify follow us. We wind our way through various couples engaged in D/s play. Some tied up, some leaning against walls, others bound with cuffs, rope or chains.
Once we make it to the other side of the room there are only two seats left. We grab them, sit down and take in the new action going around. Too bad I didn’t know the action would happen right next to me.
The middle floor had cleared of the two females, now more props were being brought in. A very large man with a beard and ponytail took various whips, floggers, chains and other things I’ll never be able to pick out in a police line up, out of his personal case. He hung them on a rack, stroking them with gentle caresses that made me cringe. Something about it had me thinking I’d be safer outside, mute with the porno flick playing across my forehead.
A table was set up in the middle but to the right of the beard man. A curvy woman walked up to it and sat down. A nice looking guy, older than me, maybe his early forties, followed. Next thing I know her clothes are coming off and he’s locking her down. This guy’s kit looks like a fishman’s tackle box on crack. The thing is huge. A few minutes later I found out why and my poor little brain went SPLAT all over again.
When the sub on the leather table had no clothes left to take off, the Master open his case, pulled out a bottle of clear substance and rubbed or squirted it on the sub. The next thing I know the woman’s boob is on fire and her Dom wipes it out with a stroke of his hand. The sub jolts off the table as much as her restraints allow while the Dom soothes her with gentle strokes and some whispered words. Oh but hell no, if I want to set myself on fire I can think of easier ways to do it that with a mini blowtorch while naked. And I sure as hell would start with my breasts. Umm OUCH!
The fire play continued and without being able to stop myself I kept watching. The thing of it is the sub never got burned. From what I understand NOW she could feel the heat of the fire, but whatever substance her Dom used prevented any damage to her skin. Later I was told this takes a lot of trust between a Dom and his submissive because face it one wrong move and say goodbye to any body hair and I do mean any ‘cause he didn’t stop with just her chest. The fire, literally, went lower.
Next up for my education two woman walked past me. One could have been a model so I naturally hated her on site. The other was an older woman dressed in a nice business suit. No clue what the hell these two were going to do so naturally I had to watch them.
Lucky or unlucky me the set up shop two chairs down from me. The model’s hands were bound and looped through a steel hook coming down from the ceiling. Once the sub was in place the older woman stroked her sub’s skin in such gentle motions I wondered what the hell these two were doing here. Two seconds later I knew. SMACK, SMACK, SMACK the Dom proceeded to open palm slap her sub’s body. Breasts, thighs, ass, stomach the Dom hit them all and her sub moaned in pleasure with every strike. The sound of flesh hitting flesh was louder than any of the whips, floggers or chains. It sounds weird I know, but very very true.
Remember when I said karma would get me. Well, she did in the form of the couple who sat right next to me. The man wore a kilt and made his sub sit at his feet. No biggie I thought. I have a friend that loves anything in a kilt. She would have loved this because I can now officially say from personal experience I know exactly what is worn underneath a man’s kilt.
NOTHING.
Oh and he was circumcised. Yep, I was that close and he was that happy. How do I know this because he fisted his hand in the woman’s hair and shoved her face in his crotch? Oral fixation abounds in this place. Someone always had his or her head in someone else’s business all the time. I pulled a Lynne and desperately tried not to look, but hey a guy’s getting head right next to me, sometimes you can’t help but give it a quick glance over.
When I did he made eye contact with me and sent me this slow sexy wink. OMG, this is THE guy from outside. The one who asked if I played and the one I made an ass out of myself with. And the window licker that I am didn’t realize it until that wink. Aughhh! He tilted his head to his lap, asking if I wanted to join the love fest going on between his legs. Ummm, that would be no. You know thanks for the offer, but nope not going to happen.
I now know he grunts when he comes then hisses out a long loud breath all the while able to keep his eyes wide open & staring at me. My education is growing by leaps and bounds.
Where is Sam Cayto in my time of distress (again) you ask? I’ll tell you. She wandered off to go look at another man being dominated with a very thick looking leather whip.
I have got to get friends with better Allie attention-spans. Left to my own devices I’d be strapped down, ball gagged and set on fire and not as a compliant sub. Mostly because my smart mouth wouldn’t know how to stay shut.
The happy couple next to me started getting louder, the spanky couple next to them kicked their Smacks and moans into high gear then we had the knife couple really screaming out across the room.
In the very corner almost to a point where I couldn’t see, but of course, being me, I strained to look. I heard a woman’s voice crying out and not in a good way. When I looked beyond kilt man and his one-woman suction machine my jaw literally dropped. I closed it just as fast not wanting to give the winker any ideas about what I was offering.
A tall thickly built man hovered in the shadows with a woman on her knees naked before him. He had lengths of rope in his hand. My first thought, what a weenie that woman is. The rope isn’t barbed, knotted or bladed. What the hell is she making all that noise for?
I should have stuck to kilt-man and the Hoover.
Rope, I know now, leads to binding. Binding leads to pain. Pain leads to well…pain. At least to me because remember I’m seeing all this for the first time as an outsider, graciously let into a private world most people will never see. Personally for me pain, burning, whipping, smacking, flogging, gagging don’t flip any switch I have. However, to some there is a certain security to handing over all control to another person.
I’ve been told the rope binding is the most technical and difficult ability among Doms. It takes years and years of practice, not to mention butt-full of trust from your submissive. You are restrained in such a way that there is no free movement for any part of your body. You are bound, not just hands and feet, but pretty much everything in between. It’s such an emotional as well as physical experience that when it was over and the Dom removed the bindings he had to secure his female in a cage to recover.
I watched to see her reaction once the male left her. She never moved. Not a twitch, foot tap, nose pick, not anything. She lay there so relaxed as if no one else existed in the room with her. It truly blew my mind. How do you get into such a headspace? Why do you want it or need it, as sometime is the case?
I’ll never know because that’s not the type of person I am, but it doesn’t stop me from wondering.
Pretty soon I was told it was time to go. When I looked at my watch I couldn’t believe how much time had gone by. The dungeon seduced a person with the sheer eroticism of passion and raw alpha power flowing through the air.
The four of us ended up outside by the fire while we waited for a loyal taxi driver to show up again. This time the owner came over to talk with me. Don’t ask! I’ve given up trying to understand why these things always happen to me.
She asked me not to leave. Her Beta Master was on his way. She wanted to me to see his style and mastery. Only ten minutes until he arrived so couldn’t I hold off until then? He was complete alpha and she’d love to introduce us before they started their play.
Honestly and politely I said I had to go. I came with my uh…cough…cough friends so I needed to leave with them as well. She gave me her card and told me we’d always be welcome if we were ever back in LA.
Thankfully Sam showed back up. She’d been searching the kitchen for homemade cookies the owner makes. Once Sam said her thanks and goodbyes we left their world and walked back into the reality of Los Angeles.
The moral of this story, girls and boys, is to never drink before going to a BDSM club, never lose your voice and most of all use a buddy system. Or else bring better friends than I did!
Those hussies thought I was off ‘playing’ or being played. Oh well I’d probably have left their asses too if they were dumb enough to wander off in a strange place.
So there ends the tale of a nice Texas girl in a BDSM club in North Hollywood. I didn’t even get a t-shirt. But I’ll always remember my time there, not to mention the tendency to blush anytime I see a man in a kilt.

Ohhhh the abuse & sympathy friends for poor pathetic Allie

2011-07-11T16:13:00.000-05:00

Yes, you read right. I'm pathetic, nobody loves me. I know I know shut up, right? Well, here's my deal. Brenna Zinn, an up and coming author, challenged me. The person with the most FB friends at RomCon in October wins. The loser must buy drinks. All of you know how I feel about losing and about drinking. Needless to say I'm imploring, begging, whimpering for friends on FB. Yes, I know some of you have already friended me, BUT there are sneaky quiet lurkers on this loop. It's to those sniper like members I'm bribing (if possible). Friend me, have your friends friend me. I cannot have Brenna beat me and treat me like her b#tch for days. I'm a delicate flower & I bruise easily. If I win the FB friend-off then whoever shows up at RomCon will share in the bounty of my liquor and my friends. I'll even pimp out Desiree Holt...do with her what you will. If that's not enough I can throw Nicole Austin in as a bonus. There's also talk of each of us bringing a bottle of flavored vodka..HINT HINT. I'm after the cotton candy myself and I'll SHARE.

Now go forth & pimp me. Share me with your family, friends, dentist, your vet, your aunt, your aunt's vet. Heck, tell your ObgyN all about the fab that is me. It's not like you have anything better to do in those stirrups, right? Think of all the wonderful conversations you can have :)

So please if you love/like/tolerate or just want me to shut up then help me to win the friend war!!

Smooches & Kudos,

Desiree Holt is my um...prisoner!

2011-07-05T08:40:00.000-05:00

Okay so she has a whip, gun, and set of chains, but a girl can dream, right? Brenna Zinn, the evil frog lover and kicker of puppies & old people, has stated I can't have more friend on facebook than her! HA! HA! I say 'cause you know I CAN kidnap everyone's fav erotica writer and blackmail people into friending me. Yes, I know it's not a good way to make friends & influence people, but come on Brenna LIKES frogs & got all snarky in my face. Not good on a Monday so I think with the combination of bribes, intimidation & kidnapping I should (hopefully) be able to win this thing by a landslide. Just to show I'm not all about the victory everyday I'll randomly, as in close my eyes & touch the screen, pick a winner for a free copy of one of my backlist books.

Friend me & Save Desiree Holt
Friend me & more people will like you
Friend me & help the environment
Friend me & I'll help spread erotica to all

LIGHT THE NIGHT FOR GS

2011-06-16T12:38:00.000-05:00

Please read through the whole post. This is a killer and people should be aware of it. Ignorance is no longer bliss. We need a cure! Support a great cause. For anyone who sends me pics of their light on 8/17 will receive a prize. Totes, books, travel mugs & more up for grabs!

Gardner's Syndrome/familial adenomatous polyposis is a chronic, incredibly painful and terminal disease that approximately 200,000 American men, women and children endure without hope for a cure, and Americans are not the only ones affected—it hits every age group, ethnicity, and country on the planet. There is little to no research being done, little medical knowledge to help the doctors who deal with it (I was told by a doctor that all he knew of it came from ONE paragraph from one of his medical textbooks that he more or less memorized to pass an exam while in med school), and often, by the time the diagnosis is made, the damage done is far too extensive to hope for much quality of life.

Worse still, the average life span for anyone is 35-40 (meaning age at time of death, not how long you have after diagnosis); far too frequently, however, children and teenagers are struck down before they can ever have anything resembling a life.

There are no celebrities to help publicize the need for help or to educate the public, nor are there organizations offering support and help to those who suffer it, or for their families; medical poverty is the norm, along with guesswork from medical teams and abandonment by families, spouses, and friends.

It's more than time for a change, it's time for action. On August 17, 2011, we are asking that everyone who reads these words join us in lighting the darkness of ignorance by making luminarias and lining their driveways, walkways, porches and/or any path that leads to their front door.

Let the world know there is a danger, a nightmare no one knows about, and share hope with those who have little by lighting their darkness.

I'll be lighting the first one, and on it will be written my husband's name and the date of his death on one side, and on the other, LIGHT THE NIGHT FOR GARDNER'S SYNDROME.

Please email this to everyone you know; forward it, post it on a blog, print it up and put it on bulletin boards….but share it. Don't let one more person die because the night stayed dark.

__._,_.___

Teasing Trinity scores 4 stars!!

2011-06-06T11:30:00.002-05:00

Title: Teasing Trinity
Author: Allie Standifer
Publisher: Total E Bound
Reviewer: Tallyn Porter
Rating: 4 Stars
Heat Level: O

Trinity Mailer has four best friends: Recee, Emma, Olivia and Briley. Unbeknownst to Trinity, her best friends spike her drink and entrust her incapacitated body to Dr. Hunt Windslow. Waking up on a remote island with no way off until a private plane picks them up in two weeks sounds like paradise if it weren’t for the fact that it’s with Hunt, who left her after a glorious night of sex. But for Hunt, he has two weeks to romance and ask for Trinity’s forgiveness.

I love that Trinity is no wilting flower after her break up with Hunt. She stood her ground and fought him every step of the way. With the exception of her meddling friends, Trinity would have lived her life avoiding Hunt. But a life without the one you love is no life at all and that’s why Hunt went to great lengths to abduct Trinity to prove to her that they belong together. Trinity and Hunt are so good together that it’s hard for me to dislike Hunt for long. Both have suffered a broken heart and calling a truce just makes everything better especially when Hunt’s dominant side takes over in the bedroom. Their love scenes are quite emotional, highly erotic and very stimulating. Oh my, they definitely heat up the sheets! At the beginning of the story, I was as angry as Trinity was with Hunt. His cockiness made it very easy to stay angry at him. I still didn’t trust Hunt even when Trinity started to drop her shields. I actually wanted to kick him in his manly parts. But like Trinity, I couldn’t stay angry at him for very long. The way he gave himself to her and vice versa was intense and magical, I was quite moved. The paradise atmosphere was the perfect environment for this emotionally seductive journey for Trinity and Hunt. I love the relationship between Trinity and her friends and I look forward to reading their individual stories to get better acquainted with the other Club Botticelli stories in this series.

Mom's, Mother's, Mama's, & Mimis

2011-05-08T11:48:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again. When we celebrate all that is MOM! We buy gifts, take her to eat, shower her with flowers, cards and hopefully good chocolate. What we don't do is actually tell her how much she means to us & how grateful we are to have her in our lives. I'm not just writing about the female that shoved you out of her womb. There are all sorts of mothers out there that didn't give birth, but their amazing mothers anyway. Grandmothers, aunts, godmothers, sisters or even older friends can and do have a motherly influence on us.

As an adult I understand I hit the lottery jackpot with my mom. When I was a kid, however, whole different story, but then again it's it always?

I've got that rare mom who has supported me from day one, no matter my crazy dream or which direction life tossed me Mom was there to support me. She's propped me up when life threw me down, kicked my butt when I didn't want to make a choice, cried when I was to afraid to break down and loved me through every mistake, award, pitfall, bad review, first sale, loss of a friend, and the death of my fiance.

Most of all Mom never said "I told you so" when she had many chances to do so. Because my Mom is normally always right even when I hate.

Thanks to my Mom's example I learned how to be compassionate, caring, a lover of animals and a mostly decent human being. The faults I claim as my own because to be perfect would make life less interesting.
I've heard it said that you've developed you basic personality by the time you're three. I have no idea if this is true or not, but there must be something to it. My mother's love made me the person I am today.
Lessons My Mother Taught Me

My brother, my sister and myself, regardless of how we fight amongst ourselves, will race across a busy freeway to rescue an animal.
Welcome strangers and friends alike to our homes without a thought of what they can do for us.
We share our blessings, money, food or clothes, with our neighbors, friends and church family.
Every child is a miracle to be cherished and loved.
People are to be judged by their actions not the color of their skin or the diety they worship.
Money doesn't create happiness, but it can ease the burden of worry.
When you give your word it's a lasting promise. People with honor, even in this day and age, should act with honor.
Burdens shared lighten the load.
Open our hearts, homes and lives to anyone brought home without caring about background or external apearences.

My Mom is a truly amazing woman. She's lived through things that I could never imagine. She has more strength than any man, but never forgets she's a lady. Her heart is generous and open. Give her expensive chocolates, wine or presents and she's happy. Give her a plant and a little dirt Mom is ecstatic. (A gift I didn't inherit)

I never know how to say thank you for all the gifts she's given me. How do you say I'm grateful to the woman who has given you everything and asked for nothing in return? Everything I am, the person I want to be is tied directly to the way I was raised.

So thank you Mom for being a beautiful woman on the inside as well as out. For living a life I could emulate with pride. You continue to amaze me as you age with grace, beauty and wit.

You truly are a lady!

Werewolves in the Marines!!

2011-05-08T01:40:00.000-05:00

Mini-rant in the first paragraph. Sorry I can't help it, but the rest of the blog is all good & all about the sexy thumb challenged shifters :)

So much as come out & gone down in the last week dealing with Bin Laden's death. As I always say politics has no place in the romance world. Unless your hero is a sexy Senator races through the country to save the world :) However the more news stories I watch the more dumbfounded I become. Have we as Americans become so desperate for entertainment that we'll risk our soldiers for our greed? When the news broke Sunday that the terrorist leader was dead all anyone could or would say was that it was a military operation. You know, I was just fine with that info. The bad guy was dead, the good guys made it out okay and everyone gets to go home. Apparently I'm in the minority. Reporters have dug until they discovered what branch of the military went into the actual take-down. Narrowed it down even further to the Seals. Bad enough, right? Then the ego driven idiots NAME the darn team!! And they throw in where the team lives, trains and gathers. To the great shock of...oh no one the next day a pipe bomb was found under the bridge the members of the unit drive on to get to their base. Did anyone but me see this one coming? Really? These men risked everything for their country & people. What do we give them back? A chance to get blown up on their way home to see family & friends. Ackk, this drives me crazy. When will enough be enough? I don't have to know the names of every man and women in the military to pray for them. I don't need to know where they live to be grateful for their sacrifice. I sure as heck don't want their lives endangered because I'm too greedy to leave their private lives private. These are our soldiers, not Hollywood bubble-headed celebrities. We have no rights when it comes to invading their privacy. These heroes have trained for years to do the job they did last Sunday night. Millions have been spent on their education and training. I don't begrudge a cent of it. So let's let them do what they do best. Remain in the shadows, watching our backs and protecting the freedom we daily take for granted.

Now this week in the NYT there was an article about a dog strapped to solider parachuting into the target zone. The dog had its own goggles, breathing mask & emergency chute. Seems the canine was a regular member of the unit and brought along to CYA everyone. If Bin Laden had been hiding this four pawed solider would have sniffed him out and given America a great victory. As it was he stood side by side with the rest of our soldiers, sometimes running ahead to make sure the way was clear.
People, is anyone else thinking secret covert werewolf operation? It's perfect really. Soliders go in under cover or under fur (lol) who's going to pay attention to a dog. But you give a wolf human intelligence under the right circumstances POW & BAM it's like Batman & Robin in Care-Bear suits arrive to safe Gotham City.
Even better we have were-bears & were-tigers train as Navy Seals. Think of the power they'd have. Power only used for good, of course :)
Hmm, were-eagles as scouts. Were-ferrets as spies. Were-whales as underwater mine experts. Oh I could go on and on, but I'll have mercy on you..for now.

Think of all the stories you hear about animals assisting in rescues, bomb sniffing dogs, cat's that predict death, dolphins saving humans from sharks. Really how hard is it to take this one step further?

Now if we have all these good were animals risking their lives to help save the stupidity that is humanity there must be a flip side to the coin, right? Well there is. The most evil base creatures in all of existence is the ...were-frog! That's right frogs! They may look small but the power they hold is legendary. Too bad they use it for the dark side of the Force.

Anyone else have ideas for our friendly neighborhood were creatures?

Three Wicked Writers Plus Two

2011-05-04T10:24:00.000-05:00

Forgot to share this in case no one knows. I'm also posting at Three Wicked Writers Plus Two. I've shared my BDSM club experience and misadventures. Various comments have been left that had me laughing until my sides hurt. Very big topic of interest to many many people. Head over there and look it over. Let me know what you think :)

Kudos,
Allie

Misconceptions and other fun things

2011-05-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

I loved my parents. They are amazing and my number one fans, but there are problems. My Mom thinks some of the topics I write are odd.

LMAO, umm yes they are. She asked me yesterday what my latest project was & I told her demons. Whoa buddy, she didn't like that at all. "What? Demons are evil. How can you write about those things?" Like my last book didn't include a reincarnated rapist serial killer? Different boats for different folks, I guess.

However, she got me thinking. Does everyone hear the word demon and think EVIL? I never did. For some reason I always pictured these creatures as a different species. I got lucky enough to write on the topic and discovered everyone was wrong including me.

According to the experts...cause there are so many demons running around sharing and all, they are not totally evil or were never bad to begin with. Some were ancient deities or spirits of nature. The connotation of evil in association with the name came from later religious sects that moved into their area.

Ha! So what does that mean? Absolutely nothing other than we let history make our judgments for us without knowing the true source of our prejudice. Funny how things work that way, huh?

Maybe it's boring for the rest of you, but I'm having a grand old time delving into the demonic world. Discovering truth from "fiction" and all that. And it led to more thinking on my part, what if the creatures of fiction we think are bad...aren't. Maybe trolls aren't mean and ugly and giants are stupid. Maybe fairies are hussies who get drunk on flower nectar and pelt innocent humans with acorns?

Oh yeah, my reality is always a fun place to visit. And yes, you can pretty much bet that all the above ideas will be seen in future books as soon as the plots come to me. I love turning fictional worlds upside down.

It's good to be ruler of my world :) Then again no one else will let me rule the real world.

Kudos,
Allie

Wanna hear the truth about Mr. Jones?

2011-04-20T15:28:00.000-05:00

Get ready for Cerise Deland's wild, wicked & wonderful new release, Me and Mr. Jones. It's really starting to heat up. Now find out why...

What woman wouldn’t crave an annual erotic, exotic rendezvous?

With a demanding lover who’s proven over and over again that he’s as scintillating and devoted in bed as out, Corin Campbell tears open her instructions for her yearly tryst with her insatiable Mr. Jones. Eager to experience what heart-pounding excitements Mr. Jones has created for them both this year in Paris, Corin knows that the Chinese love balls, her leather outfit, the masseur, the caviar and the five exhibitionists are only prelude to hours of intoxicating delight in Jones’s arms. What can he teach her this year about the enduring charm of his loving and the delights only he can summon from her?

Dear Reader, This weekend in Paris offers nibbles of exhibitionism, BDSM, M/F and M/F/M/F/M. C’est bon!

Blurb:

Buy link: ME AND MR. JONES ~ http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9268-me-and-mr-jones.aspx

But when she told the desk clerk she was here to join Mister Jones, he nodded politely as if he understood the nature of her appearance here. He must, she assumed, because he did not ask for her passport or any other identification, as most hotels did for security. Mister Jones, Corin concluded once more, had done a marvelous job of preparing the receptionist staff for her arrival.

“Mademoiselle, s’il vous plait, please follow this gentleman to your room.”

Grateful and eager as a cat now, she walked to the elevators and rode up in the gilded little cage to the designated floor. Would Mister Jones be here? Would she have to wait much longer to see him? Have him kiss her? Caress her? Tell her how he’d missed her?

“Mademoiselle?” the bellboy drew her attention as the doors swished open. Then, he led her down the corridor. At the end, he unlocked the door, deposited her luggage in a large closet to one side of the expansive foyer and led her to the sitting room. In the middle of the floor, he stopped short. She stood to one side of him, her nipples beading, her pussy swimming in fresh cream, her heart pounding.

“Is there anything else I may do for you, Monsieur?” he asked the man seated in the far corner in a large red velvet chair.

“No, thank you, you may leave,” said the rakish blond creature, yet his green gaze absorbed only her.

Long delicious moments passed as the bellboy left and the man in the chair took in her appearance from the tips of her black suede knee-high boots to the long black river of her hair, her pouting mouth and her eyes.

“You stun me,” he told her in that bass voice that rubbed her nipples raw with need each time he spoke so soft and low.

“As do you. Your instructions have been irritating, darling.”

One side of his mouth drifted up. “Is that all?”

“Never all.”

“Tell me then.” He threaded his fingers together, twiddling his thumbs. Self-satisfied bastard.

“Demanding.” She took a step forward. “Exciting. Inventive.”

“You were surprised?”

“I was.”

He nodded, his ash blond hair catching rays of the afternoon sun, his crisp white dress shirt brilliant in the lush décor of whites, black and regal red. “I am gratified.”

“Would you care to be more gratified?”

In assent, the other side of his mouth hitched up. Here was her Mister Jones with the grin that he wore only for her. The full appreciation of life that destroyed the stern-faced businessman and brought forth her lover. Corin’s Lover, he called himself on these rendezvous when he did not refer to himself as simply Jones.

She spun in a three-sixty to view their surroundings. The sitting room was sumptuous, even more so than the spa she’d left minutes before. The bedroom, she could see at one side, lay beyond. And the edge of a huge mattress beckoned. But she knew she could not, would not spoil their fun by running in and throwing herself on it. Mister Jones had worked so long to create this year’s rendezvous, she couldn’t simply tear her clothes off and beg him to fuck her. She would be a good girl, go along for the anticipation of fulfillment.

She strolled forward, a slow seductive roll of her hips, her pussy gushing in more cream at the sight of him. Her nipples hard with need at the mere hope he might soon lick her and suck her there. When she drew near him, she nudged his knees apart with one of her own and stood between his legs. Here she could inhale his citrusy cologne, the one he wore now always, the one she had had privately blended for him two summers ago when she went to Grasse in the south of France on a site research trip for a film that had failed to green light. The fragrance of the lime and cedar on his skin had her swallowing hard in need. Yet, she did not touch him. Not yet.

“What would you like first?” she asked him, her voice failing her because her desire for him was so palpable. This was his weekend, his commands ordered the events. “Shall I open the last envelope?”

“That is for much later, cherie.”

“What then?” She leaned over, drawing near to his wide slashing mouth and the temptation she always yearned to taste first and often. “Shall I kiss you?”

“Remove your street clothes,” he told her in a hush.

Trinity's here!

2011-04-19T17:49:00.000-05:00

Oh yes finally Trinity's story is here. Just wait until you see what those wild women of Club Botticelli have done now.

Teasing Trinity by Allie Standifer now available from Total E-bound Publishing. Get your copy today!
Blurb:
Book four in the Club Botticelli Series
Some mistakes can never be forgotten, especially when they turn up looking hotter and sexier than ever.
Last year Trinity made a mistake. She had one night filled with the best sex of her life. In the morning he was gone. Gone as in left the country gone.
Hunt ran from the best thing he’d ever had, but now he’s tired of running and denying the woman who haunts his every thought. Time to play dirty.
Trinity wakes up in another country, alone on a desert island except for the one man she can’t forget or forgive.
There’s a long way to go before Hunt can get the woman of his dreams back in his arms, but the more she balks the less he can resist Teasing Trinity.
Reader Advisory:Beware this book contains a pissed-off kidnapped clothing designer, one sneaky hot doctor and an island paradise where everything is possible. This book contains fun D/s, bondage, naughty words and sand in some very uncomfortable places.
By reading any further, you are stating that you are 18 years of age, or over.
If you are under the age of 18, it is necessary to exit this site.
Copyright © Allie Standifer, 2011
All Rights Reserved, Total-E-Ntwined Limited, T/A Total-E-Bound.
Excerpt From: Teasing Trinity
Somewhere in her brain Trinity Mailer knew something was wrong or at least not very right, but the comforting sound of her friends’ voices kept her from worrying. She floated around in her own head, not able to open her eyes or move her limbs, but her ears worked perfectly.
“She’s almost drooling,” Olivia whispered right near her ear.
“Well, shit. How much of that stuff did you give her, Recee?” Sweet Emma’s concerned tone almost made Trinity worry, but even that temporary feeling faded away.
Drifting in a cloud of medicated bliss she moved along, barely conscious of the strong male arms that carried her protectively pressed to his chest.
“Hell will have a new location once she wakes up, Hunt. I, for one, plan on being far far away. Like someplace in the rain forest or maybe Siberia. She’ll do very bad things to my body, soul and checking account when she gets back.” This was Briley’s voice and Trinity wanted to pat her friend for having such good sense. Of course she’d come back and ruin all their lives…or she would once she got over feeling so damn good.
“Oh come on,” Ethan said. Olivia’s love-monkey fiancé’s deep tones were sceptical. “You slipped a roofie in her drink, Recee. This is the plan all four of you dreamt up and perfected. Don’t tell us you’re having second thoughts.”
“Friends do not let friends drug friends,” Emma’s soft whisper brushed Trinity’s ear. “This is so wrong on so many levels.”
“You’re telling me. I hear the North Pole is nice this time of year.” Briley had an eager note in her voice. “I can always use it as an opportunity to expand my travel business.”
“You go nowhere without me.” This came from the new man to their group, Carter Moore. Mr. Sensitive and Reliable, all around geek king. The man so in love with Briley Evans that he had faced Recee—knives and all—without flinching. Love made fools of the best of them.
But still, while she mentally twirled in her happy place, Trinity did feel general good will to her friends and the men they’d found to love them. Only Recee and Trinity remained the hold-outs to love, but Trinity knew sooner or later a man would come along to sweep her smart-mouthed friend off her feet and into his bed. Well, this perfect man would have to tunnel his way through Recee’s fetish for knives and other deadly sharp objects. Trinity wondered if Recee’s obsession went hand-in-hand with her other focus in life, designing curvy women’s accessories. Making all those necklaces, earrings and what-not had a tendency to keep her friend armed. What with working, cutting and shaping all the metals Recee used, sharp objects were always within her reach.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, baby.” Briley’s sugar-sweet tone broke into Trinity’s thoughts. “But we’ll need to start packing right away. I don’t want to be around when she gets back.”
A male snort followed Briley’s declaration. “Trinity’s not all-powerful. She’ll be pissed then get over it. There’s no reason to be afraid.”
Everyone went silent around her. Trinity could picture her friends’ amazed stares directed at Brock, Emma’s hunka-hunka-burnin’-ex-military-love. Yeah, Brock might be all big and bad, but the solider played by the rules. Well, most of them. If she didn’t count the time he kidnapped Emma, but still he couldn’t even enter Trin’s playing field. Trinity believed in winning at all cost, no matter who stepped onto the pitch.
“Be afraid,” Olivia whispered,” be very afraid.”
“This is ridiculous,” a man growled.
Hunt.
Trinity knew that snarl, and knew Hunt all too well. Even in her fogged confusion he presented a danger she had no ability to fight.
“I’ll take care of her,” he said. “She’ll take whatever revenge she wants out on me. The rest of you will be safe.”
“Safe, my ass,” Olivia said.
“I’ll protect your ass and everything else.” Ethan had a smile in his voice.
The sound of kissing drifted to Trinity before she felt the cold wind of Avalon’s winter brush over her uncovered cheeks.
Her body shifted as Hunt pulled her closer to his warm chest. “This is my last chance. Thanks to the private plane and island I’ll have plenty of time and privacy to convince her I’m here for good. She doesn’t stand a chance of running away from me with no way off the island but boat. Plus, Briley assured me there’s no phone, Internet, cable or anything resembling modern communications. Trinity will have to deal with me if she ever wants to leave.”

I'm dying of the frog virus

2011-04-17T12:40:00.000-05:00

so this will be short. Yes, I know I missed last Sunday, but hey I was in LA recovering from a night at a BDSM club. I'm not as young as you used to be :) So in honor of still being alive I'm posting a deleted scene from Poseidon's Fortune here. Yep my editor made me take it out. Said it took away from the Bailey and Talos' story. My reply...HELLO it's Bastien, of course he takes center stage, that's who he is and what he does. Some people have no respect for the self-centered and egotistical. Poor poor Bastien....

Here it is in all it's un-edited glory. Yep, I'm being a tad of the sadistic side since you won't have a clue where or how this takes place. What can I say I like to tease....

LLet me know what you think because shortly I'll have both the cover & release date ready to drop into your greedy but loving hands :)

Poseidon't Fortune Deleted Scene

Blue and pink mist twined together and circled their bodies, erotic yet somehow innocent at the same time. A merging of one soul between two bodies so separate yet interconnected. The trust Clio showed in opening every private and personal part of her being, mind, heart, and soul.

The absolute conviction she had in Kryssin’s love and his in her made the men feel like an intruder. Bastien grabbed Talos’s arm and jerked them both out of the room.

“Hey, what was that for?” his older brother demanded, a stern frown creasing his usually stoic features.

Bastien shook his head not wanting to share his feelings with the other man. Getting mushy with the same brother that used to shove Bas’s head into a whale shark’s mouth for fun didn’t sound like the best idea.

“Thought they might need some privacy or whatever.”

Talos didn’t look convinced as he narrowed his eyes at Bastien. “You’re sure? ’Cause you’ve been acting different since he found Clio.”

Bas didn’t think so, but he didn’t want Talos going further with the line of questioning. He shrugged off the unusual sentiment, plastered a sardonic expression on his face, and turned around. “Hey, for all I know clothes were going to start flying off and the last thing my beautiful baby-blues need to see his Krys’s hairy white ass.”

“From personal knowledge I can assure you both his ass is neither hairy nor white. It’s nicely tanned, taut, and very bitable.” Clio shared that unwanted knowledge from the other room.

Both men heard Kryssin mutter something to his mate about over sharing, but Talos spoke before Bas could taunt the newly mated male.

“So do we have a place and a plan?” he asked and walked back into the room.

They found Krys with his arms wrapped tightly around Clio. Relaxed, sated smiles graced both their flushed faces and disheveled bodies. With his chin propped on top of his wife’s head Krys looked like a demi-god satisfied with everything in his world.

A pang of jealously shot through him before Bas locked down his emotions.

In a low, lazy voice, Kryssin answered the question. “We’ve got a place, a name, age, hair color, and Facebook page even.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“What he means to say is that we know pretty much everything surface about her. The”—Clio waved her hands around—”vision, for lack of a better word, gave us everything we wanted and more. If we hurry we should be able to save her from the Scabers.”

“Hey, she’s doing a pretty good job of holding her own, I’d say,” Kryssin protested in a surprised voice.

“She is now, but how much longer will her strength hold up against an immortal demon that feeds off fear and blood?”

“Good point,” he said and released her. “However, my love, you are staying here where it’s safe.”

“Not a chance in your seven oceans, sex toy.” Clio flipped around, stroked her finger over his chest.

“Clio, baby, be reasonable. We don’t know what we’re going to find. I love you too much to put you in that kind of danger,” Kryssin explained to his wife.

As excuses went Bas thought it a winner until Clio gave another snort.

“Yeah, right, pull the other leg. We both know exactly what we’re going into. I saw it all with you, remember, honey?”

“Shouldn’t we go rescue the female first then you two can argue your way into bed again,” Talos asked in a bored tone.

“Absolutely,” came the dreamy feminine reply. “I love being on my honeymoon.”

“We noticed,” two bored voices chimed.

“There’s not much time left. If we’re going to go, let’s go instead of talking the thing to death.” Looking tired of the debate, Kryssin pushed forward.

“Should we tell Alexial?” Bastien asked.

“There’s no time,” Clio suddenly shouted and stomped her foot with urgent demand. “We need to go now. Something’s happening and she may not make it if we don’t go now.”

The words still hung in the air as Clio’s form misted into colored water then disappeared.

“Clio!” Kryssin’s roar shook the jewel-encrusted walls as his mate disappeared.

Rants of a romance writer

2011-04-13T09:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm back from RT & all I have to show for it is some weird voice destroying plague! Yes, I have plenty of gossip, news & other happy tidbits, but it's going to have to wait until I stop seeing pretty pink & purple spots dancing before my eyes.

So for now I'll post a little rant I wrote after watching people buy books in the airport bookstore. Oh how little we pay attention to those watching us :)

Someone please explain this situation to me. A person can easily and happily pay for a non-fiction book about true crime or some sex manual without a hint of a blush. But ask that same person to buy a romance novel and all bets are off. What is up with that? You're too shamed to purchase a book that guarantees you a happily ever after, but proud to by a serial killers autobiography? I'm not even talking about the old school books with the heaving bosoms and all that. Covers today are more detailed and some are truly works of art so please tell me...where is the shame?

I write romance. I'm proud of my work. When someone asks me what I do for a living I tell them. I don't say I write women's fiction or mainstream fiction. I'm a romance writer..the end.

Here's a happy little fact for any who dump on my favorite genre. While most other categories' sales have fallen in the past two years romance sales have gone through the roof. Yep, we are kicking butts, taking names and all the while remembering we're ladies. Romance novels top over a billion dollars a year in sales and that ain't nothing to laugh at. So it seems we (the writers) must be doing something right in a time where even movie ticket sales are down.

Sorry didn't mean to jump on my Diet Coke box and get started again, but it just bothers me. Today I saw a woman slide a paranormal romance across to the sales clerk like she was buying snuff porn. People, wake up. Romance is a good thing. You're always left feeling happy and satisfied. Can you say the same thing for self-help books or real life murder novels?

Keep you fingers crossed that the plague either kills me or leaves me in one piece. I'll start writing down tidbits, rumors and all the wonderful gossip that floats around.

Kudos,
Allie

Beguiling Briley is up for Book of the Month!

2011-04-03T11:33:00.000-05:00

Check me out over at Miz Love Loves Book where Beguiling Briley is up for book of the month. To vote click this link & support our favorite smart-ass heroines!

http://mizlovelovesbooks.blogspot.com/?zx=843163f54409a4c2

Anyone who reads my work or follows the blog knows how special I think Desiree Holt is. She's an amazing writer, fabulous person & generally one of the most unique people I've ever met. What's this all about? My fabulous friend is celebrating her 100th release, Downstroke. I know, amazing isn't it. Head over to her website, www.DesireeHolt.com to find out all kinds of fun info & really great prizes.

I'm in the last stages of packing for my LA trip. Ughh, I hate packing, but it's a necessary evil. And I know I'll be coming back with more crap than I left with. How that happens I never know, but it always does.

So that's it for this week. I'll be sure to give all sorts of fun details next Sunday from LA. Until then

Kudos,

Allie

Ready for a little heavy & a lot of hot????

2011-04-01T11:42:00.002-05:00

Check out Cerise Deland's latest & greatest release. I'm so proud to call this talented writer a good friend!

A bastard. An American. An English noblewoman he should not want. A man enslaved. A woman captured. Both, captured by pirates and taken to an exotic citadel. Made to perform for a pasha as salacious as he is blood-thirsty.

This is THE BASTARD'S PASSIONATE PRIZE, the 4th in Cerise DeLand’s best-selling Regency period, Stanhope Challenge series!

Out March 30!!! At Resplendence Publishing www.resplendencepublishing.com

Sirena had spent, by last count, six days in a world predominated by women. Lithe, young, lovely women. Guarded by giant, fleshy black men whose eyes slid to each other in some secret code of conduct that she suspected did include their sexual interest in the women. Sirena suspected her purpose here, though she longed to learn otherwise.

Reality killed her hopes. As a child in her nursery, Sirena had listened to stories read by her governess of a land filled with godless men who ruled the East with no regard for human life. As a young woman, she heard rumors of dissolute Ottoman pashas and their penchant for deflowering female sex slaves and keeping them behind locked walls. Those had always seemed like fables meant to embolden men to travel to exotic lands and to keep English women safely tucked away at home. While Sirena’s desire to see China or sail to Bombay had seemed more dream than possibility, she had never wished to become part of any man’s harem. And this gaggle of females imprisoned was most definitely that. What with the women who did little but eat, drink, bathe and admire themselves in numerous mirrors, Sirena assumed they were the mates of the ruler here. The presence of the men who served as guards confirmed it. And on the third day of her imprisonment, Sirena met a young Spanish woman, Valentina, who told her in broken English that the men were their jailers and to ensure the women’s purity and safety, each man had been castrated.

Sirena shuddered at the idea of such brutality done to one man by another. Yet, you will soon learn what atrocity these pirates have in store for you.

The manner of her days, however, did not presage any harm might come to her. Though she got no inkling of Mark or his men’s condition or whereabouts, she was treated like a precious gem. True, after the Barbaries had climbed aboard Mark’s Water Witch, they had seized her by the wrists, chained her and separated her from Mark and any of his sailors. None had manhandled her, although many had made snide suggestions she could not mistake in any language. But once off the corsairs’ galleon, she was put atop a camel and led through the teaming city up into a gleaming alabaster palace. Though she had asked in vain for the whereabouts of the Americans, she learned nothing in the high-walled sumptuously adorned seraglio except how to be pampered.

Each morning, Sirena was roused by an elderly maid, gnarled and wrinkled like a prune, but kindly. She’d follow her maid to a cool reception room. There, a tall, imperious older woman appeared who directed her to turn about, a doll on display. She complied. What else could she do but fume? At once, the woman led her to a large room, humid with fragrance of jasmine rising from a huge azure pool. Stripped naked by two young women, Sirena quivered in modesty and indignation. But once she was directed to step down into the soothing water, her body melted in the forgiving heat. Ordered up and out of the pool, she’d be led to yet another room, this time filled with oblong copper baths three times the size of any hipbath she’d ever seen at home. Commanded to submerge in one of those tubs, she sank, grateful once more for coverage of her person, until two different women appeared armed with soaps, towels and pumices. Scrubbed, rubbed and submerged time and again in this tub, finally she was told to rise and without a stitch of clothes, she was told to follow her maids to yet one more room. Here, with other women on tables, stark naked as Sirena, she would lie down. For god knew how long, her body was examined, then massaged, oiled, her eyebrows plucked, her hair bathed and scented. Surrounded by dedicated servants who neither spoke nor looked her in the eye, she could not deter them from their goals, nor did she have the strength. In fact, she found herself astonished to submit to their gentle ministrations, primping her for a dreaded exhibition of the most lurid kind. Each morning, as the servants bathed her and refined her looks, she feared how she would be exposed. To whom? When? How? But as they probed into every crevice of her body, denuding her of hair, even to her most private parts which no one, save she, and Mark, had ever touched, she feared to know the answer.

Pampered more like a princess than a slave, she pondered her future each night in her own cozy private room filled with fat feather pillows for her bed. She received pitchers of cool water, oranges, limes and lemons. Each day, she was fed a milky concoction, the consistency of pudding but tart, tasty with nuts and fat sultanas. Each morning, her nightshift of plain linen was taken away for the laundresses. Then she’d be given a garment that made her blush and gasp. Translucent pearl silk, the kaftan had a clasp of two jeweled frogs at the neck, huge sleeves flowing to her wrists, and a flowing drape to her toes.

Aghast at its suggestiveness, she knew at once its intention was to arouse and to titillate. Without any other item to cover her nakedness, she donned it, assuring herself that her appearance did not diminish her inner character. Nor did it represent her person. Only her condition.

Enslavement, she contemplated in those first few hours in the harem, was an astonishing condition for the daughter of a duke of the British Realm. She laughed bitterly at that first thought. Then sobered. She had left her rights and privileges as an aristocrat the minute she had left her home in London. Going to Dover, intent on building a new life for herself, perhaps even learning how Mark Stanhope cared for her, was a liberating stroke. That she was here, imprisoned, seemed a bitter irony.

Where was Mark? Dead? Tortured?

She caught back cries of outrage that that might be true. She had to learn where he was, how he was.

Her resolve bore fruit on the fourth day when her friend Valentina arrived in her room to share news.

“I hear the matron, there,” Valentina nodded to the older woman who was the mistress of the seraglio, “tell our Nubian eunuchs you will go before our pasha, Al Hassan.”

“When?” Her throat went dry as dust. Her stomach rolled in fear.

“After he decides what to do with your man.” Valentina’s cobalt blue eyes snapped as she spoke low to avoid detection. “Your body has been prepared for Hassan but—”

Sirena’s heart stopped. She grabbed Valentina’s hand. “What?”

“You may be given to any man he wishes.”

“As his concubine?” Sirena tried not to let her terror overcome her.

“Of course. It is why we all are here.” Her eyes circumscribed the room filled with lounging, laughing women who, it seemed, had come to terms with their servitude.

“How do you live with that?” Sirena asked, in indignation at such bondage.

“I have been taken up once to Hassan. He is impotent.”

“Thank god.”

“Do not think thus. He has other ways to make you arouse his flaccid member.”

“How so?”

“Have you ever put your mouth to a man’s tool?” Valentina put her hand to her own mons.

Sirena shook her head, her thoughts drifting to Mark and how she might gladly take him with her lips and tongue that way.

“Hassan likes that.” She waited until the masseuses passed them by with large bowls of steaming honey and creamy depilatories. “He also likes to see men take women from behind. Like animals.”

Serena’s eyes widened. “That’s appealing to men?”

The blue-eyed woman nodded. “It is forbidden, haraam, to take a woman in the ass. These pirates may say they follow the teachings of Mohammed, but they are part-Spanish and French, ex-patriots, criminals who know no law. They follow neither god nor man’s rules. Therefore, remember only one thing.”

“Yes?”

“Whatever you are asked to do? Do it and live another day.”

Sirena turned away, filled with desperation to see Mark, know he was safe and to escape this hideous existence. All the sumptuous foibles in the world could not fill the void of heartless existences without law or love.

Announcement & Henna Tattoos

2011-03-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

Have you been waiting all week to find out my news? Yeah, I didn't think so. I'll tell you anyway since I'm doing the Snoopy dance moonwalk.

I've been asked to be a part of Three Wicked Writers plus Two. The ladies already there have a wonderful chatty loop going on, weekly blogs & are just a whole lot of fun. If you want to hang out with writers and readers sign up for the Three Wricked Writers group at yahoo & warn them that Allie sent you.
I think they have a special spot for all my friends. We'll probably be licking windows together on the short bus, but at least we'll be entertained.

This week is all about getting ready for LA. Packing, pedicure and promo items. If I can nail those three things my time in CA will groovy. The Bollywood party happens Wednesday night & I'm still on the hunt for the perfect sandals. Tuesday will be spent in Little India looking for that item. If I happen to come away with ten more thing that I don't need, but still want...ah such is life.

Someone told me I could find henna tattoos there as well. When I lived in Saudi my Arabic teacher brought me to a local market. There I learned the history, tradition and beauty behind the intricate artwork. Henna tattooing has been part of our female heritage since BC times. Even Egyptian Pharaohs were decorated with henna on their toenails & feet before being mummified. Statues of young women have been found, dating from all time periods, showing arms and hands decorated with these intricate designs.

Henna was regarded as having "Barakah," blessings, and was applied for luck as well as joy and beauty. Brides typically had the most henna, and the most complex patterns, to support their greatest joy, and wishes for luck. Some bridal traditions were very complex, such as those in Yemen, where the Jewish bridal henna process took four or five days to complete, with multiple applications and resist work. Women in these countries, are not allowed to work outside the home. However they are allowed to use their talents at henna artist. This is turning into a large and lucrative business for the females of these countries. It just go to show, where's there's a woman; there's a way :)

Flash forward to the present and you'll find more and more women turning to the henna version of the tattoo. Not only is a temporary tattoo, but there's a zero amount of pain involved. Sign me up! I'm all about the pleasure with no pain.If I get lucky I'll find someone trained and knowledgeable to appy the tattoo. Because I really hate to minimize the significance and tradition of henna tattooing. With every mark upon the skin women are placing their, hopes, dreams and prayers into their flesh, at least for a little while. To be that public, in places where woman are nothing but possessions, with your wants and desires seems like a brave thing to do, but that's just me.

So if you see me at RT with henna tats on my hands & arms you know I lucked out and found a woman of talent and vision. If I don't have them then at least compliment my shoes. 'Cause it means I spend more time looking for the perfect sandal then my tattoo.

Kudos,
Allie

Who's a top pick author...ME

2011-03-20T12:23:00.001-05:00

Oh yeah, oh yeah I rock...or at least I did for the day this came out. Then I had a call from family ninja sneak attack & BAM reality was back.
It's okay though because I still have my review. Without further delay I'm inserting the link to Night Owl Reviews for Something Old. I love how this reviewer got the book & especially Adair's relationship with his family. Not to mention the old world flavor and customs they have. Marika understood Adair wasn't a momma's boy, but a man raised to respect & preserve his heritage. So thank you, Marika, for understanding my hero & accepting him anyway :)

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Reviews/Marika-reviews-Something-Old-by-Allie-Standifer.aspx

There's also some fun news in the pipeline, but I can't share it yet. Well I could with the right bribe :)

That's it for now. Have a great weekend!

Kudos,
Allie

Please Support Bill 3804

2011-02-16T16:41:00.000-06:00

RWA Encourages Members to Support Senate Bill Designed to Fight Piracy and Copyright Infringement

Romance Writers of America is dedicated to advocating for authors in the fight against piracy of copyrighted materials. To that end, the association would like to provide members with information on Senate Bill 3804, commonly known as the “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act”.
Senate Bill 3804 seeks to hold legally accountable all entities responsible for the dissemination and infringement of copyrighted materials on the Internet. RWA has recently been notified that the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill by a vote of 19 - 0. The legislation will now be put in front of the entire senate. Information will be posted as it becomes available.
RWA members interested in showing support for the legislation are encouraged to:
• Write your local newspaper
• Contact your senators (Click here for complete contact information)
Members interested in reading the full text of the bill should click here: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s3804/text

Information copied from and credited to RWA.com

Co-writing

2011-02-13T21:35:00.000-06:00

Desiree Holt, Cerise Deland & I are having a launch party over at www.CyberLaunchParty.blogspot.com. A ton of great questions have been asked. Desiree & Cerise have nailed the answers. But it's given me a new respect for what we do. I didn't think it was a big deal until today. I mean we're all writers so we write. However the meshing of stories, characters, plots & voices is something most writers struggled to overcome. I'm lucky enough to have found that early in my career and with such talented people. I could gush all day about how blessed I am, but I'll leave the soppy stuff for now.
Co-writing is a mystery & marvel to a lot of people in this business, veterans and newbies alike. So much so Desiree & I will be giving a workshop on this very subject at RT. For those of you interested please stop by, say hi and introduce yourselves. We're pretty friendly or at least I am once I've had coffee. So no promises if you catch me early in the a.m. So not a morning person.
Another question we had today was about writing another series. Hell yeah!! Or at least that's my opinion :) We're having our annual gathering to celebrate the miraculous birth of ME!!! LOL, seriously we are getting together in less than TWO weeks. My birthday is the excuse, but we all use that time to fill our muses with new ideas, to hash out problem plots & mostly to give and receive support for each other. Writing is a solitary existence so any chance to see one another and we grab it. Hence so many conferences :)
So please head on over to the launch party for our Wedding Belles series. Leave a comment and you'll be in the running for a great themed tote bag.
Until next week when I'll be even closer than ever to Allipoloosa 2011, keep safe & stay warm with a naughty book or two.

Kudos,
Allie

Superbowl

2011-02-06T11:23:00.000-06:00

Yep, it's that time of year again. So no blog, no pearls of wisdom or news of books or works in progress. I'm gathering the goodies, heating the wings & getting ready to view all those great commercials.

A rainy Sunday

2011-01-30T23:39:00.000-06:00

There is nothing I like better than to have a quiet rainy Sunday. The only thing that could make it better would be a snow filled Sunday, but that's not in the forecast, at least not yet :) I grab my favorite beverage, Wild Mountain Blueberry coffee, a wonderful hand made crochet blanket Betty Hanawa made me, turn on the tunes and watch it rain. Then five minutes later I'm done and ready to move on. But seriously it's soothing to write as I listen to the water hit my windows and the wind blowing through the trees. Weird, I know.

The writing has been slow as my shoulder slowly learns to go back where it belongs. I have it popped in three days a week along with shocking the mess out of it. Then there's the needles. Yep, I said needles and no not the crazy big a#$ one they put in my shoulder for the MRI. These are acupuncture needles. How weird is it that a professional can stick tiny needles all along your body & heal you? I was totally sporting the porcupine look by the time the doc was done with me. There were two in my scalp, two in my upper forehead near my hairline, two in my cheekbones or near there, one in my breastbone and two more some place else on my face. Then BOOM twenty minutes later they take them out and I feel better. Crazy what so-called medieval people knew way back when and we're finally get smart enough to take advantage of. I've even been told the treatment can work my my ADHS, migraines & PMS. Hello, sign me the heck up. I'm all for better living through chemistry, but not when something this natural and easy is way better for me.

Onto the writing world. In April I'll be leaving for LA and the Romantic Times conference. I hope all of you will stop by, say hello or at least introduce yourself while I'm in the bar. Yep, I already know where I'll be because I'm hanging out with the infamous Desiree Holt, Samantha Cayto & Lynn Connolly. The number one speed dial on my cell phone has been changed to my bail bondmen. You know just in case they get me into trouble.

I'll be at both book signings in LA along with the reader room. I can't remember the proper name of it, but I'm sure you'll hear us laughing and causing trouble. Also one of my publishers, Ellora's Cave, is having a big party Bollywood style. Stop by, have a drink and feel free to ogle the Cavemen, we certainly do.

In the next few weeks I'm hoping my shoulder eases up enough that I can get some work done. So many bricks in the fire and not enough arms to do anything. In a few weeks I head out again to celebrate Alliepoolsa 2011. Yes, you read right. My b-day is a huge celebration. After all, its not every day a girl turns 29...for the fourth time :) Ill be spending the week with some of my favorite people on the planet. Desiree Holt, Nicole Austin, Brenna Zinn, Samantha Cayto, Regina Carlye & Cerise Deland. Oh what plans those women have for me. No, I can't share them for fear of leaving evidence. Yep, that kind of party.And no there will be no pictures taken...again for fear of leaving an evidence trail.

That's it for now people. I hope you had a wonderful week and are ready to face the Monday morning meltdowns. Yeah, I hate them too, even if I do get to work in my jammies.
Until next week (I hope)

Kudos,
Allie

And we finally have a diagnosis

2011-01-23T12:40:00.001-06:00

After months of waiting, horrible evil painful testing I have discovered what's wrong. When the huge city bus smacked my poor little wimpy rental car, I threw out my arm to save the computer. What can I say I'm used to having kids in the front seat. Anyway, besides a possible case of whiplash I popped my shoulder out of joint. I now have to go get it shoved back in three times a week. I will not go into my creative vocabulary the first time that innocent looking doctor tried to kill me. Let's just say I'm not a writer for nothing. I became fluent in about three languages that don't yet exist.
For the scary and life changing new, my computer time is officially restricted as it puts pressure on the wounded shoulder. Sniff, sniff guess I'll have to start drinking more to even things out :)
That's it for now as I've come close to my limit for today. However before I go a couple of announcements. #1 Teasing Trinity, the 4th book in Club Botticelli series, will be on sale 4/18/11. I'm working on Recee's book, but she's being mean...imagine that.
#2 Poseidon's Fortune, book two in the Poseidon brother's series, has been through the first round of edits. Hopefully, I'll have a release date for you soon. #3 The Wedding Belles series I wrote with Cerise Deland & Desiree Holt is coming to its wonderful conclusion in Something Blue. I hope you enjoy this last story as much as the three of us enjoyed writing it.

Until my next recess

Kudos,
Allie

Stealing Eve's blog :)

2010-12-07T18:03:00.002-06:00

Yep, my arm is still messed up. So I'm stealing the amazing Eve Savage's blog post. Be sure to follow the instructions at the end.

Rose's December 2010 Calendar

by Eve Savage

To Blog or Not to Blog

That is the Question. In the late 90s a new internet tool was born - the web log. This term was soon shortened by the media to blog and the phenomenon took off like wild fire.
So, what is a blog? In short, it's a daily journal. A pulpit. A soapbox. An op-ed piece. A news outlet. The list goes on and on. There are also many types of blogs: text, video, audio, even microblogs (but that will be covered more on twitter day).

Should you blog?

Most authors nowadays do have blogs. It's a good way to reach readers and keep them abreast of what's going on in your writing life, what you're working on, and any upcoming events you will attend.
One of the main problems is getting readers to read your blog. It's all well and good to have one, but if no one is reading it, then the information isn't getting out there. So how do you publicize your blog? There's no real science to it, but here are a few suggestions to promote your blog. The following are from www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=42377
Set your blog to Send Pings. When this setting is activated, your blog will be included in various "recently updated" lists on the web as well as other blog-related services.
Activate Your Navbar. Do this and you might start to see the effects right away! One of the features on the Blogger Navbar is a button called NextBlog - click it to visit the next Navbar-enabled blog.
Install Email This Post. If you use Email This Post on your blog, people will be able to forward your posts to friends. This may not have an immediate impact on your site stats but it enables others to publicize your blog for you.
Turn on Post Pages. By publishing every post as its very own web page with Post Pages, you ensure that your entries are way more link-able and more attractive to search engines.
Turn on your site feed. When people subscribe to your site feed in their newsreaders, they're very likely going to read your post.
Add your blog to Blogger's listings. When you add your blog to our listings it shows up in Nextblog, Recently Updated, and other places. It's like opting-in to traffic.
Write quality content and do it well. If your "style" is bad writing, worse grammar, no punctuation, and an ugly design, that might be okay for a niche crowd. But the idea here is to achieve mass appeal, so fix yourself up a bit.
Publish regular updates. Simple: the more you blog, the more traffic you'll get.
Think of your audience. A good way to build an audience is to speak to one in particular. When you keep your audience in mind, your writing gains focus. Focus goes a long way toward repeat visitors.
Keep search engines in mind. There are a few things you can do to make your blog more search engine friendly. Use post titles and post page archiving. This will automatically give each of your post pages an intelligent name based on the title of your post. Also, try to be descriptive when you blog. A well crafted post about something very specific can end up very near the top results of a search.
Put your blog URL in your email signature. Think of how many forwarded emails you've seen in your day, and just imagine the possibilities.
Submit your address to blog search sites and directories. People look for blog content at Technorati every day, are you on their list? You should be. Submit your blog's url to Technorati, Daypop, Blogdex, Popdex, and any other site of that ilk you come across.
Link to other blogs. Links are the currency of the blogosphere and it takes money to make money so start linking.
Install a blogroll. It's a very simple yet effective social networking scheme and it has the same result as a simple link if not stronger: traffic! So if you don't have one yet, sign up for a blogroll and get that link-list going.
Be an active commenter. This is in the same vein as linking. Most comment systems also provide a way for you to leave a link back to your blog which begs a visit at the very least. So if you feel inspired, leave a comment or two in your blog travels. It behooves you.
Enable Following on your blog. Following is a great way to keep your friends updated on the latest activity on your blog. New blogs will have this blog feature enabled by default, but for older blogs you will have to enable it from the Layout | Page Elements tab.

Multiple Prizes Alert!!!

In order to bring you all to the Roses' blogs, we're having a contest! Go to each of the following blogs and read today's post. There you will find the rules and the prizes you can win for today's contest!! Good luck! Eve

Eve Savage's Blog
Shayla Kersten's Blog
Myla Jackson's Blog
Cerise Deland's Blog
Delilah Devlin's Blog
Allie Standifer's Blog
Elle James's Blog
Desire Holt's Blog

(click here to take you to the calendar for a preview of more to come this month)

The amazing Nicole Austin is guest-blogging

2010-11-21T21:39:00.000-06:00

Yes, the awesome Nicole Austin has taken pity on me and my one-armed predicament. She's blogging for me today about men and their IT factor. Without further whining, bragging or sucking-up here's Nicole!

Gettin’ Naughty – The “IT” Factor by Nicole Austin

Let’s face it, we would like our man to have it all—looks, smarts and an irresistible personality. In reality, looks fade and anyone can become smarter with a bit of effort. IMHO, the “it” factor is personality. It is that certain undeniable and difficult to pin down quality that makes someone charismatic and attractive.

It has many facets. A man with a quick wit who can make us laugh is worth his weight in gold! If he has the manners of a southern gentleman we swoon. How often do men hold the door open for a woman or pull out a chair for her anymore? Such manners are now considered old fashioned and not often practiced in our fast-paced society where women are equal.

Guess what, guys? We may not need you to treat us as if we’re frail, but we love the consideration along with the boost to our femininity when you make the effort to be a gentleman. Whether we admit it or not, most of us want the romance and tender treatment.

An it man can make conversation with anyone, putting them at ease and immediately drawing them in. From the goth kid at the bus stop to the influential politician at a charity event, he treats everyone with the same genuine interest and respect. He listens, makes you feel your response is important, watches for subtle body language cues, and generally charms your socks off. He could be talking about the most boring subject but he’s memorable, holds our attention and you are inexplicably drawn to him.

We authors try to capture that rather indefinable it factor in our characters. Here’s a little snippet where I described the quality in Aiden from my first book, Passionate Realities…

The most enticing draw was that he had the whole package going on. The man was incredibly fun, engaging, energetic, sexy, successful, charismatic, and smart as shit. Okay, some people thought he was arrogant, but she knew that it was just his extreme confidence putting out that vibe. He knew what he wanted and staked his claim with no doubt as to his right of possession.
Then he would mysteriously surprise everyone with a burst of charming little boy shyness or deep emotion, keeping you slightly off balance. Aiden exuded charm, and people just loved to be near him. A real man’s man. Guys wanted to be him, and women just plain wanted him. His seemingly casual disinterest in their obvious desires just made them want him all the more.

That brings us back to a common theme—confidence. A confident man can make us melt quicker than the hottest GQ model. What makes someone truly attractive comes more from the inside than their outer appearance. Let who you are shine through and be confident in that person.

Many other qualities can and do make up the it factor. Honesty, integrity, intelligence, a nice smile, sense of humor, manners, sensitivity, sincerity, drive and ambition, affectionate, considerate and thoughtful, and a sense of adventure, perhaps a dash of wicked bad boy to keep things interesting. Mm...yes. This man wins over a superficial man with good looks hands down!

What do y'all think? Did I miss anything? What do you think makes up the it factor?

Happily Ever After

2010-11-14T09:39:00.000-06:00

I'll do my best to keep the whining at a minimum. I'm starting to annoy myself. Moving on...my sister's divorce was final this week. Not to be catty, but his family looked like the Clampets come to town. The judge had to order dear old fart dad to remove his baseball hat. Don't get me wrong I really liked my former brother-in-law. He's funny, hard-working and down to earth, nothing like his family. However, these things happen and sometimes it's no one's fault. Though I like to blame it on his rude and catty step-mother and father....that's a whole 'nother story. It involves the middle of nowhere, bugs in gumbo and father-in-law stealing all the reception food.
Why mention any of this you ask? Well, because it proves my point. We all need happily ever afters. If we can't get them from real life then books prove to be the next best thing. Life may not have all the drama of a romance novel, but at the end of the book at least you know you'll have that happy ending.
Through all bumps, ups and downs in my life I've kept my books near. Most of the time I read for pleasure, but sometimes as an escape from my troubles. Imagine my surprise when happily immersed in a book I get to the end and there's no happily ever after. I mean really? I read all this, connect with the characters and join the journey with them only to end up bitch-slapped in the end with one of the main characters dying. ACK!!!! Makes me want to smack the author.
Ummm, yeah, I think I'm done with the ranting and the arm is getting cramped from typing. I hope all of you enjoy your Sunday, stay warm!

Kudos,
Allie

Doctor's appt & NaNo

2010-11-10T09:16:00.000-06:00

Good new: my rotator cuff is not torn. Bad news: it's actually my neck or back that's causing the arm pain & swelling. Ummm & GULP! Crackers, Batman, I had no idea something I thought would be simple is now mucho complicated. Ugh, so I'm off to another doctor...a neck guy and I'm sure more tests. However if someone tried to stick that big a*& needle in my NECK?? It's on...one armed and all.
My whining continues as I'm missing out on National Write A Book In a Month. I was in it last year and hit over 100K. I hate not being part of it again this year, feel like a loser.
I think I need to drown my sorrows in another cup of coffee and my arm is cramping up from this little amount of typing.

Kudos,
Allie

Good news and yay me!!

2010-11-07T21:50:00.000-06:00

For all of those asking....Poseidon's Fortune, the second book in the Poseidon series has been contracted!!!!!! WOOT!!!!! Yep, it's great to finally have it out of my hands and into the hands of my editor. Have no idea what the release date will be, but it's good to know it's finally in the line up!!

Also for those of you following my Club Botticelli series Beguiling Briley received a really nice review from Sensuous Read. Thank you, Emily!! You made my night!!

Review: Beguiling Briley by Allie Standifer

"Beguiling Briley is a quick read as each page pulls the reader in more"

When Briley Evans’ computer breaks she ends up going to a computer repair shop her friend had recommended. She meets Carter Moore who becomes tongue tied in her presence, far from Briley’s normal type she becomes intrigued by Carter. Deciding to see where the attraction takes her Briley flirts with Carter who is equally as mesmerized until their evening takes an adventurous turn.
Beguiling Briley is a quick read as each page pulls the reader in more. Briley is a confident woman who once she realizes what she wants is willing to take it, until it comes to love. Carter is a terrific character, I thought the way he was written and the nervousness he shows to Briley was very endearing.

Still the one armed girl

2010-11-07T11:28:00.000-06:00

well, didn't get the test in. I got the dates wrong so I think it's this week that I find out exactly what's wrong with the right arm. So I'm still in whining mode. There are so many things I miss about having two good arms. However, I know people have it much worse than I do. I would never try to take away from those who've suffered a permanent loss of limbs. With me being me I can't help but throw a mini pity party.
On the upside, the reviews have been great for the last few books released. I'm thrilled to see them and read them but I love getting reader comments more. You hear how much you loved the characters, the hot hot sex scenes and the overall plot makes me do the one armed dance of joy.

I've got deadlines coming up and somehow I'll beg, borrow or bribe my way into getting a little help in the writing. We'll have to see how it goes, but I'll be sure to do any updates or any new news when I have it.

until next week

Kudos,
Allie

Testing, testing

2010-11-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

Augh! Long needle small arm joint... can we say pain, boys and girls? Oh yeah, I had an MRI and something else, not sure what. Everything blurred after the 'needle incident'. Holy Crackers, Batman, that was not a fun experience. I do not recommend it for children or people who dislike pain.
The above is a long drawn out way to say WHAAAAA I'm still sling-bound & I'm finally going to get the results of my very painful testing. My good news is I've ordered a program which, I hope, will enable me to write by speaking instead of typing. Not sure if it works or not, but at least it's something, There are deadlines a'comin and I'm not a one armed typer.
This car accident had completely derailed my life. I can't drive for long periods of time, I can't type for more than a few minutes. I'll skip the whole bra, washing my hair irritants. Man I do miss my right arm.
So that's it for now. My whining is done. I'll be back sometime next week to either dance the dance of joy or throw a pity party to end all parties.
Wish me luck,

Kudos,
Allie

PS: A huge huge huge thanks to Regina C, Nicole A, Cerise D, Samatha C & Desiree H for taking such good care of me at Romanticon. Love, love, love you ladies!!! Alliepoloosa 2011 here we come!!!!

It's here!!

2010-10-04T12:05:00.000-05:00

Yep, arm's still messed up & that really limits my typing. I had to share the news Beguiling Briley's is out! The third book in the Club Botticelli series is available at Total E-Bound. Pick it up and let me know what you think!
Also for those of you in the Ohio area I'll be at Romanticon this weekend. Swing by the book signing and say hi. I'll sign anything I can, but remember I'm right handed & my right arm is in the sling. Who knows what it will happen. The first five people to buy one of my books gets a goodie surprise!! Love prezzies!!!

Kudos,
Allie (the gimpy princess)

So....

2010-09-22T12:14:00.000-05:00

Yeah I know I've been absent....again. However I have the most amazing excuse. A bus hit me! Yep I know I said I was fine, but turns out I'm not. Sucks, I know. My arm is in a sling & there are issues with my neck and head. Who knew I'd still be messed up from getting sideswiped by a CTA bus. I'm not allowed to type for long so the amazing Desiree Holt has jumped in to help me out with my blog.
I'll try to get a little something in next week.
Kudos,
Allie

You’ve been Scorched and Singed. Now it’s time to get Scalded. Book Three in Turn Up the Heat by Allie Standifer and Desiree Holt is now on the virtual bookshelves and it’s setting fire to computers. Get it Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Sony and All Romance Ebooks

Here’s what reviewers are saying about this latest tempting morsel:

From Happily Ever After Reviews:

What do you get when you have the queen of hot romance and an author who has a wicked imagination come together? Why you get Scalded in every way. You will love Reed Brody for here is a man who has everything he’s wanted in Halli. He’s got a woman who is beautiful, sexy and loves the kinky stuff like him. These two together are hot, sexy and fun with one another it is easy to love them. The fun between them is crazy and man the scenes between them with these toys are like, wow. These authors sure created a tale that will burn you with their passion and the wild stuff in this book will blow you away. Loved it!

From RRT Erotic:

Scalded is a sexy short story about finding love when you least expect it. Reed’s brother recently fell in love, and now Reed is even more sure that playing the field is the way to go. Much as she may fantasize about letting a man take control in the bedroom, Halli enjoys her independence. As she sees it, a relationship will mean a loss of her independence and control, both inside the bedroom and out. Yet the chemistry between them sizzles out of control, and the relationship between them takes it’s natural course. A tempting erotic tale.

Excerpt:

With one last look at her packed cases, Halli knew the sales of dildos, cock rings and anal lube would push her profit margin over the top. The money would put her one step closer to buying the house she’d been dreaming about and getting out of the small cramped apartment over her coffee shop, Jolts. Though the free rent hadn’t hurt her savings either. The sex toy parties more than made up for the declining economy. People always, always had time and money for sex or sex toys.

Four years ago she would never have dreamed of making money this way, but back then she hadn’t known her dream house really existed. Not until she’d found it surfing local real estate listings. Now that Halli knew it was out there waiting for her, she’d do whatever it took to make it her own.

Too bad Halli didn’t understand the fuss herself. Oh, she could talk the talk, but she’d never walked the walk. Too timid to bring up sex toys to her past lovers and too uptight to try them out by herself, Halli relied on satisfied clients in order to glean the details.

Did it make her a freak that she wanted a little bondage? Wanted to dump the responsibility for her sexual pleasure on a man’s lap? She wanted to be teased and touched until she begged for the release only her lover could provide.

Too bad that lover didn’t exist. Most men didn’t like admitting to needing anything more in the bed besides their cock. Halli didn’t think toys took away from their masculinity, only added more intimacy to the joining. It sucked that hey needed so much convincing.

“So, how did it go tonight?” Tina Devers, her hostess for the evening walked back into the room after showing the last guest out.

Halli smiled at the older woman, not able to stop the wide grin forming on her lips. “Who knew tax attorneys could get so kinky?”

Tina laughed, her gray-streaked hair tumbling wildly around her cheery face. “We can party with the best of them, honey. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”

Fanning a hand in front of her face, Halli laughed with her. “After tonight my lips are sealed.”

“Good.” Tina gave Halli a friendly pat on the back. “Now, let’s get this stuff in your SUV. I can’t wait to try out my new toys with Ricky.”

A sliver of envy caught her unawares at the mention of Tina’s husband. After so many years together they still shared a passion and friendship that made her yearn for a connection like that of her own.

Desperate to shut down that mental picture before it could form, Halli grabbed the top case. “Don’t you dare grab one, Tina. These things weigh a ton. Plus, it’s my only form of exercise today.”

“Nonsense. If you won’t let me help then I’ll yell for Ricky.” She put words to action yelling her husband’s name.

Within seconds the barrel-chested retired police detective ran into the room. “Tina, honey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Ricky, I just wanted you to help Halli lug out these cases. The poor girl’s been on her feet all day serving coffee. Then she came straight over here for my party. It’s amazing she hasn’t fallen over yet.”

Heat crept up her cheeks as Halli listened to Tina’s exaggerated version of her day. Granted she’d been up early in order to open Jolts, but she hired people to sling the coffee while she normally stayed in her office playing catch-up with paperwork, coming out to help when the rush hour crowds showed up or spelling an employee for break or lunch.

“She works too hard,” Ricky agreed. “Hey, honey, Reed’s on his way over. He had some questions about an old case I caught a few years ago.”

“Ricky,” his wife of thirty-four years whined, “I have plans for us tonight. I opened a bottle of wine and everything.”

Rick looked a little confused until Tina jerked her head to the case he carried. A red flush crept up his cheeks as his wife’s meaning caught on. “Oh….uh…okay. I’ll try and catch Reed before he gets here.”

“Good, ’cause you won’t be answering the door once the lights go out. You’ll be real busy, lamb-pot.” Tina purred to her spouse and Halli wanted to dash out of the house with her ears covered.

One major drawback to hosting these parties, people forgot to censor their tongues around her. They said and did things they’d never dream of repeating in public anywhere.

The party tonight had lasted longer than normal, but the women and their open checkbooks more than made up for any tiredness she felt. Still she wanted to go home, crank up her computer and check up on her dream house.

“Sure, honey. Halli, don’t tell me you carried these trunks in here all by yourself?” Ricky tugged one bulky plastic container and hefted it into his arms. “These things weigh a ton.”

“It’s my only form of exercise, Rick. Besides they’re not that bad.” Grabbing the white handles Halli lifted the next case and followed her friend’s husband out the door.

“Not bad, my ass,” Rick complained good-naturedly.

The trip from the couple’s living room to her small hybrid SUV took only a few minutes. Soon they had the cargo area filled. With the last of her product tucked safely in a smaller plastic case under her arm, Halli said goodbye to her host.

The lighted walkway leading from the door to the driveway lent a sense of safety as she contemplated her future plans. Her dream house crept closer with each party she gave and the more products she sold. Soon, so very soon, she’d be able to buy a king-size bed and have a place to put it.

Her small cramped place now did double duty as both apartment and storage space for Jolts. Her personal space was crammed in between cases of coffee and creamer and her small twin bed and mini fridge.

One of her favorite pastimes was to click on the little slide show posted on the real estate agency’s site. Her dream house was just over twenty-five hundred square feet. She didn’t care if it was more room than one person needed. The place had two porches—front and back—a large stone fireplace in the living room, professional chef’s kitchen, and a lovely backyard complete with swimming pool and hot tub.

The master bedroom and bath were any female’s ultimate fantasy with giant walk-in closets, double sinks, walk-in stone shower with its decadent five showerheads. The tub, almost big enough to swim in, came with massaging jets, heat lamps and a shelf for a flat screen television.

Another couple of parties like this one and she’d be able to put thirty percent down on her dream.

Caught up in her visions of home and leg room, Halli didn’t notice the tall figure striding toward her, his form just out of the comforting circle of the security lights.

When hard hands grabbed her shoulders, Halli jerked back, let out of yelp of fear and threw her arms up in an automatic protective gesture. The plastic tub fell to the ground with its lid flying open. Anal beads, wands, lubes, handcuffs, silk scarves and nipple clamps scattered around her feet.

Be sure to visit www.desireeholt.com and www.alliestandifer.com

Bus vs Allie

2010-09-06T13:45:00.000-05:00

Oh you know it, the bus won. Yes, I'm okay. Bus was turning so was I next thing I know half the front of my rental car was gone. Yikes! Then the delightful (ha ha) bus driver gets off the bus yelling at me. I told him I wasn't doing a screaming match. He shut up and went to call the police. Finally the cops showed up, very sweet lady cop asked me what happened I told her & I didn't get a ticket :) The driver's supervisor showed up, again a very nice person. He actually stayed with me until the tow driver pulled up with my new rental.
I have to say aside from a few select individuals everyone is Chicago has been amazing. They're good natured, friendly and very willing to answer questions or help out. If it weren't for the twelve feet of snow every year I'd love to live here.
As for what I doing with my writing career...nothing. I have plenty of plots, characters and fun things running around my head, but no time or energy to do it with. So this will be another short blog until I'm back home.
But keep your eyes out for new releases coming out in the next few months. For those of you who enjoyed Ordering Olivia, Enticing Emma then get ready for Beguiling Briley. The third book in my Club Botticelli series. Briley's in way over her head with a cute geeky computer genius named Carter. With the help ie meddling of her friends you won't believe what happens next.

Be sure to tell me what you think of Briley's story and watch out for the third book in my Erotic Escapes series, Snared in Siberia, coming soon for Ellora's Cave as well.
Until next week watch out for buses!
Kudos,
Allie

Go me, go me

2010-08-26T08:11:00.000-05:00

Ordering Olivia got its first review!! As you can tell from my subject line it's great one. Night Owl romance gave OO 4 stars so I'm dancing out the door. I'll post it here so all of you can dance along with me :)

Author: Allie Standifer

Genre: Spicy Romance

Reviewed by: Maria

This is the first book in a new series based on a club opened by a six friends who happen to be successful women. The author did a good job of writing a story that kept my attention from start to finish with an interesting theme, engaging plot and scintillating dialogue. The title is easily read in an afternoon.

Olivia “Livia” Paisley is a retired model whose life has completely changed in the last three years. A health situation while on a photo shoot put her in a hospital emergency room. The doctor, Huntington Winslow, basically told her that she had two choices, either eat real food or die at a very young age. Her six foot body could no longer exist at the weight of 120 pounds. Livia took the doctor’s advice and started to eat a healthy diet. She became a successful model for one of the world’s biggest “real size” clothing lines and then retired at the age of 32. After her retirement, she and five of her friends opened up a club for women of any size to relax, dance and have fun. Former friends said the club would be a failure but it’s been a success since it’s opening the year before.

While her business life is going great, her dating life is at a standstill. Betrayed by someone she trusted, Livia has not let any man close since. Only a bet from her 5 friends and partners has her thinking about hooking up with a man who she keeps running into all over town. Livia’s friends and business partners are great secondary characters and you can tell that they will probably be focus of the other books planned for this series. These women guard each other’s backs and are more than willing to take revenge on someone who they believe has done them wrong. There’s a great scene in the book where the women are confessing the revenge that they took against Livia’s ex-fiancée, it was humorous and dare I say inspiring.

Ethan Newton is described as being over six feet, with brandy colored eyes and an imposing figure. He’s a successful businessman, who works in the family oil business. He’s intrigued and attracted to a woman that he keeps running into all over town, first at a restaurant, then the movie theatre, the dry cleaners and now “Club Botticelli”. Ethan realizes that he wants this woman more than any other woman he’s ever wanted and proceeds to flirt and eventually proposition Livia. He’s surprised when she admits to being one of the club owners and they proceed to go upstairs for a night of explosive sex in her apartment above the club. The problem comes the next morning when both Livia and Ethan realize that their hearts are on the line and when outside situations cause some problems. They will need to decide if they want to take a risk and see where their relationship could go.

I really liked how the author dealt with Livia’s growth as a woman, first from realizing that one doesn’t need to be a size 2 model to have a fulfilling and successful life, to realizing that even though you’ve been burned being open to love is always the right choice to make. I also liked how Ms. Standifer had Ethan realize that being with a woman who actually ate real food and had a body with some curves, was what he was looking for. At one point Ethan also realizes that he’s made some assumptions about women and he begins to get a new perspective on the gender as a whole. The author included some hot and well written love scenes and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

On the road again

2010-08-22T22:41:00.000-05:00

Yep, I hit the blue skies and landed in the great state of IL. So far so good. Forgive me for what is sure to be a short post, but it's been a very long day. I'm pooped and have an even longer day ahead of me tomorrow. I'll be sure to find a new hotel with free wi-fi so I can add to this post later in the week.
Don't forget Enticing Emma, the second Club Botticelli, is out tomorrow at Total E-Bound. For those of you who loved Ordering Olivia be sure to grab Emma's story. What's better than an alpha male that refuses to walk away from the only woman's he's ever loved? Yummy, I know. So check it out and let me know if you love Brock and Emma's story as much as I loved writing it.
Until later people...Kudos,
Allie

It's Sunday again

2010-08-15T23:54:00.000-05:00

I made it on a Sunday! Yay me even coming in from a road trip. The weekend went great & the birthday girl had a amazing party complete with everything she wanted. So as long as she's happy, I'm happy.

Here's some funny, yet happy news. I met a fantastic lady and her husband at a local B&N when I flew through town for a quick in and out visit. They had some great stories and I enjoyed meeting with them. I think if we'd stayed in the store any longer we'd have been tossed out. Nothing I love more than meeting readers that love books as much as I do. Next time I blow through town I hope to meet up with them again.

This week is dedicated to getting stuff together for Romanticon baskets. I'll have three to auction off. One all by my lonesome, the second with the amazing Desiree Holt & the last with all the talented authors in my editor's loop. Funny enough my editor loves frogs as much as I hate/fear them. So of course the idea behind the basket is squirmy little green evil buggers. Why me? Oh yeah, I love my editor. Damn the luck.

Friday also saw the release of the second book in my Erotic Escapes series, Pleasure Me in Petra. I can't wait to see what everyone thinks of it. I had a blast writing it & it's longer than anything I've written lately.
A woman down on men & a man who has nothing in common with this woman. Two people brought together by fate & the mystical meddling of three immortal matchmakers. Check out what happens after dark in the once lost city of Petra when two people come together in a clash of desire and need.
Be sure to let me know what you think. Until next week, people.
Kudos,
Allie

Here I go again

2010-08-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

Yep, I'm here again. And aren't you lucky I'm posting twice in one week. Mostly due to irritation, summer heat and fugly looking toe nails. Seriously what's up with people and their yellow cracked toes? For under twenty bucks any man, woman, or child can get their toes done at the nearest pedi/mani salon. There's no reason in the world for you to walk around with chipped, fugly toes. I get it if you're broke, have political or religious bans on pedis. Yay for you, but for the rest of us who have to eat around near you, cover those nasty suckers up. Wear closed toed shoes, socks, something to hide the hideous condition of those little piggies. I'm not asking just for myself, think of the children. They'll be scared for life.
Whew, I feel better. If I've scared one person into the nearest Tic Tac Toe then I can sleep easy.
Had lunch with my Dad today which means I was forced out of bed way too early. I'm a night owl, I don't do sunrise unless I've stayed up all night and come trapping home as the sun comes up. So we met. I actually got there before him, a first for me :) I mainlined caffeine with coffee and Diet Coke. Ordered my breakfast, but forgot to ask our delightful waitperson to hold the berries. I'm allergic to red dye. Makes me hyper then I crash with a two day migraine. Since I forgot to mention it the berry goop was scrapped off my fluffy pancake. Smiling Sam came over asked what was wrong I explained. The next thing I know my plate disappeared along with my eggs, bacon & fruit. Bang! She's back with a new plate, new pancake and new everything. You could see my Dad almost crying in gratitude. Hey, I'm really not that bad, my Dad's just an emotional softie...NOT! So I've had no dye, not enough coffee and shoved out of bed way too early.
Has anyone seen this thing? Bark Off? 2 for 10? Keeps your dog from barking or trains him when to bark? Or something like that. What will we think of next? Useless crap that millions will buy then toss in the junk drawer within a week. Not that I have all that much room to talk, I've got my own drawer full of crap.
Sorry TV is on and the commercial popped out at me.
Today I'm determined to get the first chapter in the next Turn Up The Heat series done. I hate feeling like something is hanging over me. Makes me feel all freaked out and pressured, but it's no one's fault except my own.
And for those of you wondering, yes I forgot my to bomb another room. Some days it doesn't pay to open the coffin. Now I've got to flea bomb the very last room in the house and hang out another day outside. Hopefully I'll still have enough energy to get my work done.
I'm done for now or at least until I can think of something else to flip me out :)

Kudos!!

Missing Week

2010-08-08T19:01:00.000-05:00

And again I've skipped a week, but hey it's summer. There's a pool outside calling my name, the kids are out of school and it's too hot to do anything. Too bad I have to work...pesky bills to pay and all that.
I have been busy...really. Last week I attended a wonderful birthday party for my mom's best-friend, Barbara. Had a great time until they threw me in the kitchen. Tammie wanted me to cook or at least attempt it. Me? Kitchen? Cook? Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture. Ahh the struggles I have in life. Finally I grabbed the knife and smooshed the garlic. Whew, no one ever told me how sticky and stinky the little buggers are. Yuck!
Then my brilliant little mind ended up spending three days stuck outside my house because I have fleas in the house. Yep, I'd bomb the room I got bit in then spend the day out in the pool. Go in get bit in a different room, bomb again the next day and so on. Today was finally the last day...I hope. Geesh why is it so hard to kill these little buggers? If I get hit by the blood squad again I think I'll move. It's got to be easier than this.
This week's going to be just as busy. I have meetings out of town for the day job then another birthday. Because I'm clever and know my family I've convinced the b-day girl to insist on kabobs with corn on the cob, Crave cupcakes and not much else :) I'm so evil it's scary. But really what idiot wants to stand outside in the Texas sun and cook over a BBQ pit? I'd rather sit in the pool with a cool drink and toss kids around in the water.
In between all that fun I have writing to do or else my writing partner, Desiree Holt, will be kicking my butt all over Texas. She's not the only one. Deadlines are pressing down and I've got to get busy. It's just there's so many plots, characters and so little time.
I promise to do better and have a more interesting blog next week. Right now I'm just pooped. Between the fleas and the sun I need a nap :)
Until next week...
Kudos,
Allie

Club Botticelli

2010-07-25T12:38:00.000-05:00

Yeah, yeah I know I missed last week's blog. There is a perfect excuse. I had jury duty... very heavy weight hanging over my head. Yes, I believe in doing my civic duty. I've served on several trials in the past and always do my best to be open-minded and honest. This time however past experiences prevented me from accepted. Nope, can't get into the details except to say driving under the influence in any circumstances is breaking the law. There is no excuse for it and you should go to jail. And that's my Point of View.
Moving on to happy news. The first book of my Club Botticelli series, Ordering Olivia, will be released tomorrow at Total E-Bound. Yay!! I'm so excited to see this book come out. There's nothing better than see something you envisioned from idea to completion come true. It's really perfect since I'm in the middle of writing the fifth and last book of the series. Wow, I can't believe the ride is almost over and I'm having so much fun with it.
Never fear as I've sold the third book in the Erotic Escapes series, Snared in Siberia, to Ellora's Cave. Yes, this is the book formally known as Bonded in Lake Baikal. I'll fill you in more later when I have release details and cover art.
There's more coming up this month, so to be a surprise & others I'm waiting on the info to share.
So that's it for this week news. Hope everyone has a great week & be sure to let me know what you think of Ordering Olivia.
Kudos,
Allie

New Releases and stuff

2010-07-11T13:36:00.000-05:00

Tease Me In Tunisia is finally out at Ellora's Cave! This is the first of my Erotic Escapes series. Yay! Love writing this series, it's such a blast researching all these fun and exciting places. My bookcase has more than three shelves filled from end to end with travel books, World Heritage Site books, unforgettable places, once in a lifetime trips and lost lands. There really is something exotic and erotic about places and people so different from our own. You learn about their history, religion, culture and (yummy) food.
Tunisia is an amazing place, filled with culture, history and yep food. Here's some little known facts about this amazing city and people. There's the Amphitheater of ElJem. This amazing piece of history is from the 3rd century and can seat over 60,000 people. It's now part of the World Heritage Site conservation efforts due to its construction and as a example of Roman imperial ego.
Dougga is a ruin northern part of the country. It's been preserved because UNESCO believes it's one of the best preserved small town in North Africa. Dougga’s size, its well-preserved monuments and its rich with history make it exceptional. Amongst the most famous monuments at the site are a Punic-Libyan mausoleum, the capitol, the theatre, and the temples of Saturn.
I'll stop going on about this amazing city, but before I do three more drops of info. Hannibal's elephants were supposed to have traveled through the city. Last but not least the medina of Tunis. This is where the main mosque of Tunis, Zitouna, is located. Zitouna means olive tree, and comes from the mosque's founder and Koran teacher. The amazing building was erected in ninth century. The last piece of amazement is Carthage, one of the most famous historic sites of the Roman Empire.

Makes you want to grab your passport, leave your kids and head for the nearest airport. Auhhh, one of these days I'll make my way there along with every other place I'm writing about. I'll take plenty of pictures, some with me and some without me in them.

For those way too interested in my deadlines, yep I finished both books. The fourth book of the Club Botticelli series is done and in the hands on my editor. Book three in the Erotic Escapes in completed and sitting patiently in my EC editor's in-box. It was a freaky time and no I didn't hit the exact date, but I did get it in before the weekend was up.

My next project is the last (hooray...sniff sniff) book of my Club B series. Romancing Recee I'm both excited and reluctant to finish. I can't wait to see how it ends then again I don't want to say goodbye to my girls, Olivia, Emma, Briley, Trinity, and Recee. They've kept me laughing, screaming and almost in tears several times. Who knows maybe someone will pop out at me to keep the series going. I love writing romance because you never know what's or who's going to happen.

On a personal level...is summer over yet? The kids are out of school, it's been raining for weeks and one of us might not make it through the summer alive. I get it though, it's flipping hot out there. If I was their age I sure as hell wouldn't want to be stuck out there. There's too many things to do inside with nice cold A/C. Forget the summer and shove me straight into winter.

That's it for this week. I need to write, beat some kids and get a tan. Not to mention figure out a costume for a roaring twenties party for Romanticon. I'm thinking Greta Garbo with a little Katherine Hepburn thrown in. Maybe a pair of silk lounging pants, bolo jacket, slicked down hair, cigarette holder and plenty of pearls.

If anyone has better ideas feel free to e-mail me. Until next week...

Kudos,
Allie

Happy Birthday America!!

2010-07-04T12:38:00.000-05:00

This is a perfect holiday. No presents required, but vast amounts of food is mandatory. Hello, what can be better?
Okay, serious thought here for a minute. I know what this date represents to Americans all over the world. This is the birthday of the United States of America. The country that represents democracy to most of the world. Countless men and women have died to ensure we have the many freedoms we enjoy today. I am thankful for are military people for standing up for my rights. For ensuring I never worry about bombs or secret police attacking me in the middle of the night. They are the reason we enjoy our freedom of speech and many other rights we take for granted.
And now that you know where I stand on military support I'll move on to my love of a holiday that involves massive quantities of food and no crowded mall shopping. Love, love, love it.
So I'm am celebrating this wonderful day with my amazing friends. Nothing like getting together with like-minded insane writing companions to celebrate freedom of speech. We write romance for women. Very adult romance. I cannot imagine being able to write what I do without the constitution that protects me.
Getting together with my friends always an experience in insanity. We drink, we eat, we talk...too much and as always we plot new books. This time we came up with something new, fun and linked. I can't share the idea until we hand the final version to our amazing editor. As soon as they let me open my big mouth, I'll spill all the details.
I guess that's it for this week, people. I need to get back writing. So many books so little time. Until next week, people.

Kudos,
Allie

Summer, deadlines and other things I want to avoid.

2010-06-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

Summer is hot. I hate sweating, but I love using the pool. However I think I'd be just as happy with a heated swimming pool in the middle of winter. You get the fun of swimming, maybe a tan without the three digit tempts. Who wouldn't love that?

Deadlines. I have a love/hate relationship with them. I love to see them go, but I hate to see them coming. However, I feel they are a fact of my life as a published writer. If I didn't have them then it would mean no one wanted to buy my books. Yikes, something I so don't want to see happen. So I live in semi-harmony with the various dates that come creeping up on me. This week I'm under double the pressure. I have two books to finish by the end of the week. Normally I'd mildly panic except I'm headed out of town this weekend. So I have fewer days to write than I'd like. Yes, I could have finished the books anytime before now, but what fun would that be. In case you're wondering what stories I'll be pounding out I'll tell you. The third book in my Erotic Escapes series, Bonded at Lake Baikal needs to be finished for my amazing EC editor. The other is the fourth book in my Club Botticelli series over at Total E-Bound. I'm excited to see the first book hit the virtual stands next month. This has been such a fun series to write and I'll be sorry to see it end.

I had an amazing review from Whipped Cream reviews over at Long and Short. Thanks, Tiger Lily, for ready and loving my book. I actually blushed reading the review and I never blush. Check it out

http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/2010/06/twenty-four-hours-by-allie-standifer.html

So I'm off to finish my two books before I hit the road again. I'll be spending the

weekend with three of my favorite people on the planet. Brenna Zinn, Desiree Holt and

Cerise Deland. Their cooking. I'm doing dishes and bringing pre-cooked food. My friends

smart and know better than to let me near a stove or microwave.

Until next week, gang, keep reading and keep cool.

Kudos,

Allie

Father's Day & how to say thanks.

2010-06-20T10:02:00.000-05:00

I am very blessed to have a great father in my life. My dad has been there from day one, supporting, encouraging, and challenging me every day since. I can still remember sitting on the sidewalk in front of my childhood home waiting for my Daddy. Every day he'd act surprised to see me, thrilled to find a grimy girl and her faithful dog waiting sneakily (or so she thought). I get hugs, kisses and a piece of gum. No better present for a child. Sweet memories that can still make me tear up.

Years later I still think of my father as a hero. He's stood by me, even carried me through some of the worst moments of my life. Whenever I needed encouragement he kicked me in the butt. He's a man of strong honor and unbending values. I lucked out in the parent jackpot. I'm just thrilled I didn't get his ears or feet :)

That's not to say we didn't have a more than our share of fights and nasty words, but through it all I never doubted my father's love.
Unfortunately my Dad had to travel for work. Not just a night or two, we're talking months even years at a time. So my poor Mom was stuck raising my not so sane brother, sister and my perfect self.

We didn't have the conventional family life, but somehow my parents made it work for us. So to say thanks to my father I'd take him out to a fancy dinner, or buy the biggest card in the world, but none of that would mean much to him. My Dad would rather fire up the grill and have his family spend time with him. Laughing, screaming, crying and complaining so long as we're together my Dad's thankful.

This week's blog

2010-06-13T21:34:00.000-05:00

Well, gang, I've tried all day to come up with something funny and amusing to share with you, but I've got nothing. My beloved and cranky cat of fifteen years, Phoenix, died Thursday with almost no warning. Some people will mock, others will shake their heads and wonder about wasted emotions on an animal. Still others out there will grieve and cry with me. To those I say thank you. Thank you for knowing and understanding the joy and love our 'furry' children bring to our lives. I was so lucky to have been there when Phoenix was born and privileged to have been there to hold him when he died. It truly broke a piece of my heart to say goodbye to my only child. As in life my cat went out on his own terms and his own way.

Phoenix spent most of his life pissing people off. He was really good at that. Toward the end of his life he mellowed some. By that I mean if you bribed him with treats he'd let you touch him. My sister loved his gluttony as it's the only way he was ever nice to her. Me, on the other hand, I'd pick him up and love on him just to piss him off. He'd growl, jump from my arms and stick his tail up in the air. Ten minutes later he'd be back, jumping on top of me, just to show me who really was in charge.

Animals may never talk in a way humans understand, but they communicate with us all the same. I thank God for that because I knew even at the very end, my Phoennie knew I was there and I loved him.

So that's all for this week. Kiss and hug your four legged kids and remember what special blessings they really are. Truly gifts from God to love us so completely without boundaries or conditions.

Here's poem I think sums up everything. I'd give credit to the author but no one knows who it is.

The Last Battle
If it should be that I grow frail and weak
and pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this--the last battle--can't be won.
You will be sad I understand,
Don't let grief then stay your hand,
For on this day, more than the rest,
Your love and friendship must stand the test.
We have had so many happy years,
What is to come can hold no fears
You'd not want me to suffer, so.
When the time comes, please let me go.
Take me to where to my needs they'll tend,
Only, stay with me til the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.
I know in time you will agree
it is a kindness you do to me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I have been saved.
Don't grieve that it must be you
Who has to decide this thing to do;
We've been so close--we two--these years,
Don't let your heart hold any tears.
-Author Unknown

Rainy Sunday

2010-06-06T12:03:00.000-05:00

It's one of those days when I find it nearly impossible to motivate myself. The sky is cloudy and dark, the wind's blowing the chimes the crazy and it's a Sunday. The only thing I feel good for is laying in bed watching documentaries. I mean that a form of research, right? And we all know research is a form of work, so...if we get technical then I'm really working, not goofing off.
Whew, I love a conversation and logic strand that I bend around like a twisty pretzel to suit me :)Before I go to ...ahem...cough cough...work let's review my week. I've had ups, downs and moments of sanity. I shed the last as quickly as possible. Whoever heard of a lucid writer?

This week I managed not to beat, maim or kill anyone. Yay me! Oh you smirk do you? There were many many peoples in my home for the holiday. I like people, but at a distance and only for short periods of time. This many people...it's like they were asking to be slaughtered. Painting bull eyes on their buttocks or something. But I prevailed and rewarded myself with a cookie and vanilla Diet Coke.

Tuesday came and went. I'm a little fuzzy on the details as I was still recovering from Monday. Wednesday I did things, not sure what, but I'm almost positive I was productive or at least looked it.No one has complained or accused me yet. Thursday I spent with my five year old nephew. We ate at CiCi's pizza. Then a trip to the mall which landed him two huge icing slathered cookies, a weird neon drink with a cup he can keep, a loud buzzing game and a large picture book of the world's most disgusting predictors! I sent the little darling to his mother on a sugar high, his lips dyed blue with a annoying game under one arm, glow in the dark tongue and a revolting play by play book of snakes, spiders, alligators and more devouring their prey. Needless to save I've been taken off the babysitting roaster for a while. Darn it.

Friday: not allowed to see nephew as he is still swinging from the ceiling fans and trying to saddle his dog. Sister is inventing new curse words to use on me. I feel loved and much satisfied. Good day.

Saturday...ack more people. Must be my punishment for sugar coma of five year old. Snuck out of the house on the pretense of having oil changed. Then remembered I needed my oil changed so had to do it anywhere. Good news found b-day card and present at oil change place. Saved me two different trips. Classy car place. LMAO

For those of you who think I completely wasted my day I'll have you know I did work as well. I finished two sets of edits for two different books and publishers. I wrote a blurb for three books and harassed my friends who won't answer me on e-mails, phone calls or text messages. Some would say it's stalking. I call it determined love.

Now I sit here still mainlining coffee, coming up with some really great excuses not to write. I'm sure I'll come up with something amazing or at least half ass believable. Until then I have to write.

Please share your week and the wonderful reasons why you can't do whatever it is you're supposed to be doing. I always need backup plans :)

Until next week or my new tangent, keep cool and stay wet:

Kudos,
Allie

Review for Twenty-Four Hours

2010-06-03T18:00:00.000-05:00

My first review for Twenty-Four Hours is here from Night Owl reviews! Wow, who knew a book written on a dare could be so much fun? Thanks again to Desiree Holt for issuing the challenge and helping me push my writing boundaries. So without further blathering on my part here it is. My first solo EC review...Snoopy dancing with a cold bottle of vodka.

Reviewed:
Jun 03, 2010

9781419928260

Publisher:
Ellora's Cave

Print:

eBook: $2.49

Published:
2010-05-14

___________________

Become a Night Owl Supporter!

Author: Allie Standifer Website

Genre: Spicy Romance, Cougar - OW, YM

Read an Excerpt

I enjoyed reading this novella by Ms. Standifer. It’s part of Ellora’s Cave Quickies series and is a fast read that took me about an hour or so. The tone is light and it was easy to read.
I liked the character of Courtney Museo; she’s a successful businesswoman with her own company and also works hard at staying in shape physically and in maintaining her appearance. She realizes that she may at some point want to have some cosmetic surgery to keep her appearance youthful but is not distressed by it. She can also laugh at herself and realizes that she is somewhat vain. She’s very attracted to her assistant, Mason Jeffries, who is only 28 years of age compared to her 41. Courtney has refused to act on their mutual attraction on the basis of their age difference; however, her little mishap with the tanning bed puts her at his mercy.
Mason Jeffries is an interesting hero; he’s young, attractive and intelligent. He’s also been lusting after Courtney and has flirted with her to no avail. He gets an opportunity to spend time with her away from work and jumps at the chance to prove to her that he’s not too young for her and that what they have is more than a physical attraction. He’s known for some time that he is in love with her. He’s also quite sexual and has quite a bit of stamina.
This is a very hot book. The sex is scorching and I do need to advise that there is both anal play and anal sex in this book, so if that is a hot button for you- be advised. The story is very well written and is fast paced due to its short length; however, things are resolved in a very satisfactory manner.

Blogging on the holiday

2010-05-30T17:55:00.000-05:00

My family and circle of friends celebrated Memorial day today. We had former FBI, Airforce, Army and of course Marines. These men now work in various fields all over the world, some are even retired. But they never stop being warriors that served our country and paved the way for my freedom.

So this week's blog is nothing more than a simple thank you to all those past, present and future who are willing to shed their blood and give their lives so that I may enjoy the basic freedom's of life.

Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen of the U.S. military. You have my undying and eternal gratitude.

God Bless America and the men and women who defend her.

Techno Slut

2010-05-23T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hello my name is Allie and I am a gadget groupie. I love buttons, whistles and all things shiny. I own Ipods, Blu-Ray, Wii, Xm radio, GPS, digital cameras, laptop and everything else I can get my hands on. My next wish list item is the Ipad. Oh yummy and yay. I can't wait to get my fashionably manicured hands on that one. I watch movies on my Ipod touch right now and yes the screen is kind of small, so bigger is better. I guess I'm turning into an Apple whore. It started innocently enough with my first Ipod, the the Ipod touch. I moved into the big league with my MacBook Pro. Now I hear the siren's lure of the Ipad calling my name. Along with a list of accessories to buy as well. Nothing is the land of Apple is cheap, but at least the products are made to last unlike some other high tech items I could name.

For those of you not in the know, I'm finally back in Texas after an extended (almost six weeks) time away. Whew, I love to travel, but I hate packing. Of course I hate unpacking too. Guess there's no pleasing me :) It's good to be back, but I sure as heck didn't miss the humidity. It's like stepping into a pot of gumbo just walking out the backdoor. Getting into the pool doesn't help either. The water's so warm you might as well be taking a bath, all that's missing is a rubber duck and loofah sponge.

I was lucky enough to spend a few days with good friends Delilah Devlin and Shayla Kersten. BTW, I can be bribed to share their personal information :) We laughed, ate and drank plenty of bottled water from Mountain Valley Spring Water. This water is bottled straight at the source which is very important if you're water. The rest of the impostors are transported with tanker trucks to their bottling locations. Yep, I didn't know that much about water until I talked with Shayla. Now I know the difference between good water and good water gone bad.

I had a lovely visit, slept in an amazing bed and didn't wake up scratching. Love at first snore. I'm planning a trip back up there so I can take in the hot springs and other natural beauty of the area. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have good friends to spend time with.

I'm staying put for the month of June. Whew! My butt is dragging and I owe editors completed books. Editors are scary people if you try and miss a deadline, something I make sure to never, ever do.

Speaking of deadline I've got three looming over me. I need to get busy, but can't seem to get into the writing rhythm again. Maybe I'm still tired from traveling all over the southeast part of the country? Then again it doesn't matter one way or another, deadline is deadline and I need to get busy.

Did I mention I sold another story to Ellora's Cave? It's called After The Music and I'll let you know release dates and all that when I do.

I'm walking away from the computer for a while. Maybe get my writing mojo back until then take it easy and stay cool.

Kudos,
Allie

Roses Colored Glasses Newsletter is OUT and other things.

2010-05-16T11:19:00.000-05:00

For those of you not in the know, I belong to Roses COlored Glasses a writers helping writers sort of loop. They do everything and can answer just about any question you have. Best of all joining their loop is free. Best selling authors Deliah Devlin, Elle James, Desiree Holt and Shayla Kersten are just a few of the names you'll find there. These women are really amazing and eager to help new writers find their foot in the new world of romance writing.

http://rosescoloredglasses.com/NewsMay10.htm

As for my personal life...I'm moving on again. Not a day too soon for me. My bed literally had bed bugs YUCK!! I still can't get the smell of smoke out of my clothes and other things. On the plus side my mini Keurig makes great coffee. I think I'm addicted to Green Mountain Coffee brand Island Coconut. Yummy stuff. Of course I think anything with caffeine is awesome :) I dread the day someone comes up with a twelve step program for people like me.

Latest news: Desiree Holt and I sold the third book in our Turn Up The Heat series, Singed. Picture me doing the happy dance while driving on TN 24W. Yep, I needed that good news. Then when I got back to the bedbug infestation ie my hotel I found another e-mail from my adorable, witty and most brilliant editor at EC telling me my second book in Erotic Escapes, Pleasure Me In Petra, has sold as well. Talk about making a bad day great. This time I fully did the Snoopy dance in my room. I think a few of the bedbugs started a conga line in celebration. A wild night was had by all, I think I even passed my nine thirty bedtime. It's a wild life I lead here in the middle of nowhere with invicible biting bugs as my only company. Can you blame me for wanting to spend time with semi-normal semi-sane people like my friends? At least they won't bite me without warning.

It's raining again here. My lovely pink and white rubber boots are making a statement. I really don't notice the snickers and muffled laughter as I pass by. Besides I like to think the men are jealous and the women just envying my style :) Yeah, I delude myself a lot. It keeps me entertained and out of jail.

I think that's it for this week. I need to Febreeze the room again then start packing a few things up. Anyone know what laundry room manners are? Do you wait for the clothes? Do you offer to share soap? Can you leave your things there? Do you have to talk with fellow washers? Most important, can you beg friends to allow you use of their machines while you visit their home? Yep, I think I'm taking the last option. I don't play well with others when it comes to clothes and money.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week, stay safe, stay happy and most of all stray a little from sanity.

Kudos,
Allie

Bed Hopping

2010-05-12T17:34:00.000-05:00

The past two months or so have kept me busy with travel and writing. I haven't managed to sleep in the same bed for more than two nights in a row. I miss my bed. Normally I'd miss my coffee pot, but I brought it with me. Yep, I'm that addicted, but that's a whole 'nother blog.
This week I'm celebrating the release of my first solo Quickie with Ellora's Cave this Friday. Twenty-Four Hours is all about discovering a new side to someone you thought you already knew. Very hot and sexy. I can't wait to hear what you think.
I'm sitting in yet another hotel room listening to the rain pour outside and wondering when if I'll ever dry out. Too bad my day job requires me to stomp through the mud and muck no matter what the weather. Good news is I have a very cute pair of pink and white polka dot rubber boots. Always make a statement, I say. Plus. it gives them something to talk about.
I've got some really great news from my editor over at EC. Desiree Holt & I have sold the third book, Singed, in our Turn Up The Heat Series. Also I've sold the second book in my Erotic Escapes series, Pleasure Me In Petra, to Ellora's Cave. It's been a great month for me and my writing. Not to mention spending face time with some really great friends.
The next project is the fourth book with Desiree Holt and the third book in Erotic Escapes. So many plots, so little time, but I can't think of a thing I'd rather be doing.

Short post as work calls and I need to get busy. People to pester, hay fields to drive through and wild life to run from. Ahh what a glamous life I lead.

Kudos,
Allie

I survived Nature!!

2010-05-03T10:57:00.000-05:00

So I made it through my weekend in the Texas Hill Country. The Wild Rose Press held it's writing retreat and I had a blast. First off I stayed in the Wyatt Earp room that's supposed to haunted. From the noises that woke me up on and off Saturday night I'm thinking they're right. Nothing creepy, but highly interesting.
Brenna Zinn and I did our co-writing workshop. I think it went well as no one threw frogs or rotten fruit at me. I'm pretty easy to please in that manner.
My Scarlett Rose Editor Diana did her own workshop and a good time was had by all. The idea behind her workshop was to jump start the muse. A button, CD, bracelet, cracker, note clip and a bottle of bubbles. What do these items have in common? They were all in my brown bag and I had to write a short story that included all the items. The second bag contained a triple A battery, plastic fork, fly catcher, safety pin, and again a bottle of bubbles. Fifteen minutes was the time limit and it shows in my writing. My notebook looks like a drunk first grader wrote it. The spelling isn't that much better. Just goes to show you how dependent I am on my computer's spell check.
So to get your Monday started off right I'm going to put my hard earned work here for all of you to read. There are two parts to the story, but I'm combining both of them here. I'll separate them to give you an idea of the difficulty of this project.

Invasion Of Evil Frogs From Outer Space
By: Allie Standifer

Diana slowly ate the stale cracker while waiting for the Elvin bracelet dangling innocently on her slim wrist to light up. Nikki's note, clipped in its holder had her stomach and hands clenching in nervous anticipation.
Jumping from the bar stoll the button on her pink catsuit caught on the chair's saddle horn and fell to the floor with a soft ping. Frustration and fear grew as she jammed her favorite CD in and cranked the music up. The wild Polka beat filled the empty space as Diana's pulse pounded with fearful energy.
Her fingers nervously twirled a strand of long silver and pink hair that had fallen loose from her pony tail.
Could the prophesy be come true, in the middle of nowhere, TX? The writing on the note burned into her mind.
Pender's Frogs were finally making their move to enslave the world under their influence of evil. Only the bubble of Avalon could stop the invasion of the devil's minions, but would the magic potion arrive in time? Or were they forever doomed to live under the dominion of the slime monsters?

2nd Bag
"Diane?" Boch interrupted her thoughts. "We've found another way to stop the frog horde."
Heart afraid to hope, she looked over at her green haired leprechaun lover. "We're running out of time. New York, New Orleans and Padre Island have already fallen."
"They didn't have this," Boch protested holding a green fly catcher in his hand.
Her pale slim hand flew to her throat in a nervous gesture. "Will it work?"
He lifted a green brow. "Austin took back the city using these attached to a fork and powered with a triple A battery."
"Boch, we're saved. The evil Pender's forces won't be able to defeat your brillance."
"I know," he smugly told her. "Let's have sex to celebrate. I've come prepared."
In the center of his lightly green tinged palm Boch held out a familiar blue packet and white tipped safety pin.
Diana's heart raced in raw desire. "You know me so well." In one swift tug the catsuit minus a button fell to the floor.
Boch mirrored her actions then used his teeth to tear open the foil.
Looking down Diana flinched. "My God," she exclaimed, "will it fit?"
Boch only laughed and said, "That's what the bubbles are for, baby."

Yeah, I know it's no Desiree Holt, but for the amount of time I had I didn't suck too bad. Be sure and let me know what you think. Have a great week people!

Kudos,
Allie

What makes a hero

2010-04-25T22:38:00.000-05:00

This question has been pinging around my brain since last week's post. Really, what makes a man make us sit up and take notice. A man that doesn't even exist outside of a writer's imagination? What is it that makes us long for this certain man to be real, to exist side by side with us in our world?
I like to think it's more than a handsome face and buff body. Those things are nice, but kind of like eating icing without the cake. There's always something missing. I know when I write my heroes I create them with flaws. Short temper, stubborn sense of always being right or the naive belief they don't need anyone in their life. Flaws, I think, create the character, ads layers and depth to an otherwise one dimensional piece of fiction.
A few traits I've noticed over and over again have made me think these are what draws us in as readers and women. The first is dependability. A man you can count on when the world's exploding around you, a vampire is about to rip out your throat or a Regency baron is about to slice your head off with a sword. No matter the time period, the setting or the general genre men with the ability to come through are a turn on. The foster sense of trust and safety that aren't easily found in reality.
The second thing I've noticed is a sense on honor. You know what I mean. The highway man that refuses to allow a child to be beaten. Or a cop that rescues an abandoned dog on the side of the highway. The werewolf that refuses to release his beast on the innocent.
Third is loyalty which I guess could be the same as being dependable, but not quite the same. The perfect or the memorable hero has loyalty in spades. A code of conduct that cannot be broken. He's there for his friends, family and anyone he persevere as being weaker than him. Not to mention fidelity to his chosen lady. Is anything sexier than that?
So that's my opinion on the top three qualties on what makes a remarkable hero. As well as what goes into being a male character in one of my books. And yeah a hot body and sexy face don't hurt either.
Until next time have a great week!

Kudos,
Allie

Hooked on Ranger

2010-04-21T16:06:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know people will be throwing popcorn and more at me for saying that, but I can't help it. I'm Plum fan now and chewing my nails waiting for Stephanie to get together with Ranger. Why not? He's hot, he's always protecting her. Hell, he's never said a word about all the cars she's blown up or destroyed. It takes a strong man to keep his mouth closed when hundred thousand dollar cars are flattened. Not to mention watching her walk away every night.
Joe never asks. He's never really there for her other than sex and clean laundry. I won't even go into scary Grandma Bella. Freaky deaky!!

All right...fire away.

Done yet? Look it's not like I don't get the Joe attraction. Joe is tall, dark and sexy. He's great in bed, he doesn't expect her to cook and he loves his dog. What's not to love? But he leaves me feeling a bit on the lonely side. He's never there for her. He pretty much just shakes his head and goes on his way.

Only two imaginary male characters have ever grab me by the throat. The first is Roarke by J.D. Robb. The second just happens to be Ranger. Strong, confident powerful men are who love completely are the sexiest thing I've ever seen. That's what makes them so popular with readers the world over. Fictional characters with real world attributes.

I only hope my hero have part of the soul of those two men. Because they are what makes writing so much fun.

I look forward to hearing the comments. Just play nice with the language. I damage easily.

Kudos,
Allie

Slacking off

2010-04-12T12:02:00.000-05:00

I have discovered the wonderful world of computer games. Oh yes, I'm a late bloomer when it comes to this topic. I knew games were out there, but I could never be bothered with them. Ha! Look what jumped up and bit me on the left cheek. I'm into games. Spent all day playing them. It's addicting and I may need some sort of step program. To clear a few things up before you ask, no I'm not into role playing or dice or whatever else is floating out there. Blowing things up doesn't do a thing for me. Nor do I enjoy running around killing virtual people, monsters or robots. I like geek games. Hidden objects, word puzzles, gem stones and all that.
It's sad that I've fallen so far, but come on there are so many free games and apps out there it makes it impossible to say no. It makes it even more impossible to write. Considering I have deadlines that is a really really bad thing.
So I've chosen to limit myself to playing games on my Ipod. No more taking up precious space on my MacBook. If I go through withdraws I'll be sure to whine and complain about it here. If anyone has a favorite hidden objects or treasure hunt game let me know. I promise to keep on the Ipod and away from my work area :)
Speaking of work I actual have been doing some of that stuff. Finished two new books with the great and talented Desiree Holt. They've been shipped to our editor and I'll be starting book three in the series today. When we hear back from her I'll be sure to let the rest of you know when, where and what.
No, I have not finished Wishes, Kisses, and Corpses. Yes, I'm a loser and slacker. Please, keep the mocking to a minimum. I'm delicate that way :) I will, however, have to finish it by the end of the month of face the wrath of the mighty Desiree Holt. I'll be staying with her right after RT. If I don't have it done...well let's just say she's a creative woman and would have no problems hiding the body. Remember me fondly if this should happen and lift a Diet Coke in my honor.
On to brighter news: The third book in the Club Botticelli series has been contracted with Total E-Bound. The book, Beguiling Briley, ended up a bit longer than I expected, but I feel its the best one yet. Look at my website for more information on the series and the individual books.
Also for those of you interested I'll be at the Wild Rose Press retreat in Bandera, TX at the end of the month. I'll be giving a workshop on the joys and miseries of co-writing. Come by and say hi if your in the neighborhood. Better yet sign up for a four day conference with horse back riding, good food and great people. I'll be there with Brenna Zinn Saturday doing our workshop. I'd love for you to stop by and say hi.
That's it for now. I'll head back to my work in progress and ignore the lure of my hidden objects games. Ahh, the temptation.

Kudos, Allie

The Art of Writing

2010-03-28T12:47:00.000-05:00

Someone recently told me how lucky I was to be a writer. After all, what could be easier than working in my jammies and not really working. HA, if this person hadn't been a VIP to someone important to me I would have stood up and walked away at the very least.
Here's a hint for those not in the know. Writing is hard work, very hard work. It takes dedication, perseverance and commitment. Not to mention talent and very thick skin. Bad reviews, scalding rejections all take their tolls, but a writer keeps true to themselves and their characters.
It's not so much the need to get published though there is that, but it's almost a compulsion to write out the stories in their heads. The twists and turns of each plot take over our minds and lives until we have no choice, but to commit the tale to paper. To give it life and watch it grow.
Working from home isn't easy. There are tons of distractions with family, friends and strangers all dropping by, calling or making their presence known one way or another. Most don't understand or don't want to understand that work is really work and you can't just walk away to go shopping or out to lunch. 'You can do it later'. Yeah, because free time just falls from trees in a writer's world.
With so many other things going on in our lives, sitting down at the computer takes a concentrated effort. Yes, there are many other things I'd rather do on a sunny Spring day, but I make myself sit there and write about whatever storyline is going on in my head.
It all boils down to this if I don't write I don't get paid. The end. Like everyone else on the planet I have bills. In order to pay these bills I need income. My income just happens to come from one of the greatest jobs in the world, writing. So I write to give life to my characters and to pay those pesky bills.
Next time you think the writer's life is simple and easy try this. Go to your computer, sit down and write something. Not anything big, maybe just a thousand words. How long did it take? Does the story flow? Do your characters have dimension? Will readers be able to identify with them? Will they love the hero and cheer for the heroine?
If you answered no to any of these questions, tough luck, you need to start over. Now doesn't that suck?
Welcome to the easy world of being a writer.

New Blog, New Topic & Same old me

2010-03-17T11:20:00.000-05:00

Either I've seen the light or just got tired of hearing friends tell me how old & tired MySpace is. So here I am with a new blog and a new look. This will change as I get better at playing with layouts, fonts and such. Give me enough time and who knows where I'll end up.

To play catch up for those of you not following me in ghetto land:

Club Botticelli series: The first book, Ordering Olivia, will be released sometime in August. Enticing Emma, the sequel, will follow a month or so later. Beguiling Briley is in the hands of my Total E-Bound Editor. I'll let you know what I know when I know it. Teasing Trinity is in baby steps right now. Only a page or two written, but so far she's already bleeding people with her sharp tongue.

The amazing Desiree Holt and I are one again teaming up to write together. This time we're tackling a family trilogy. Very hot, very steamy and very fun to write. If you haven't caught it before, our steamy V-Day offering, Seductive Illusions, is up for sale at Ellora's Cave. Our next release, Kidnapping The Groom, will be available on April 30. It's our take on female power and never piss a good woman off.

Right now I knee deep in my own project, Wishes, Kisses, & Corpses. Is it wrong to have so much fun torturing my characters?I mean really, the hero is all set to take it home & I throw in every obstacle I can think of. Just because it's fun...for me at least. I want to see how much torture a man can take before his head starts spinning and nasty pea soup spit out of his mouth.

Brenna Zinn and I are also have a very good time poking at the characters in our collaborated work. She'd never had a writing partner before...probably never will again after me! I love my work and I'm so good at it, too.

Hmmm, New Orleans was amazing. The perfect time of year to go when the humidity doesn't kill you just stepping outside. I bought too much junk for the kiddos, ate too many times at Cafe Dumond. I met great people, spent time with one of my favorite's, Desiree Holt and in general ran around like a fool.

As I said before, to those of you who asked, Vegas is a blur. Can't remember a thing. Guess what happens there, really stays there, huh?

So anyway, welcome to the new blog. Please stop calling me ghetto girl behind my back now that I've changed blogs. Comment away I can handle it :)