Dianne Castell | North or South... Which one are You?

One of the reasons I wrote Hot and Bothered (Kensington BRAVA April 08) was to set a book in the South and not just geographically but in characters and language and food! Characters in NY are way different than characters in Savannah. You won’t hear the doorman at the NY Hilton say Y’all come back now, ya’ hear. And food? Just try getting a cream egg in Savannah or sweet tea in Manhattan.

I’m more Savannah then Manhattan. Not that I don’t looove NY City, I do. But I live in Cincinnati and feel connected to the South. I fry chicken and make cream gravy and make my own pumpkin pie. I don’t have a hidden tiara in my panty drawer but I do subscribe to Southern Living, think Paula Deen is the cutest thing on earth and have actually waited in line for two hours to eat at Lady and Sons. Yep, it’s worth the wait! And I can twirl a baton!

I have a pair of white gloves in my drawer and use cloth tablecloth and napkins and set the table proper with flowers for Sunday dinner. If my kids don’t mind their manners they get “the look of death” from their mama and I buy hair spray two bottles at a time and wouldn’t dream of leaving the house without putting on my face.

I love the South. My heart is there...except for those Palmetto bugs. I’m sure they are what keep me from moving south of the Ohio River. Sweet mother, are those things ugly as sin!

So, who are you? North or South? Even if you’re Midwest you probably lean more one way or the other and I’m willing to bet you have a little Southern in you just begging to get out. Let me know by entering my ONE DAY ONLY BLOG CONTEST and I’ll give away two Hot and Bothered T-shirts from the answers.

Thanks for chatting.

Hugs,

Dianne Castell
http://diannecastell.com/

Anne Gracie | On Beloved Books and Banter

I write in a room lined with beloved books - it's like being with old friends. I know chunks of some of these keepers by heart. For some reason it's usually dialogue I remember, some favorite exchange between the characters.

I love the banter that takes place between a hero and heroine, particularly where they're talking about one thing, but there's a delicious sexual undercurrent underlying the whole conversation.

I'm not talking about suggestiveness, but banter as a sexy duel, a form of courtship, a dance, a game that neither can lose. Good banter always makes me smile.

Some books, some heroes, lend themselves to it more than others. For me, it's usually the hero who starts it. For instance, here's an example from my current book, THE STOLEN PRINCESS, where the Regency hero gets the heroine all hot and bothered with just a few teasing words.

She gave him a severe look. "I told you, I have no desire to put myself under the thumb of any man, ever again."

"But it wasn't my thumb I was thinking of." He said it with such a— such a wicked, laughing look she was hard put to know what to say. So she turned on her heel and walked off.

It took her several minutes of marching along as fast as her legs could carry her before she was able to think at all, let alone think of an appropriately crushing, yet dignified response. His words, along with that laughing smile in his eyes, were a pure invitation to sin. She snorted. Nothing pure about it!

* * *

Later she tells him:

"You know perfectly well what I meant by not wanting to be under the thumb. My entire life has been spent under the rule of two extremely autocratic men — first my father and then my husband. Now I have had my first ever taste of freedom, and nothing — no man —could ever taste sweeter than that."

"Is that a challenge?" he said softly.

"No! Do not be so frivolous."

"I wasn't," he said in a meek voice, but his eyes were dancing.

It was the color, she thought irrelevantly. She'd never seen such blue, blue eyes. Like sunlight sparkling on the sea. Another thing that wasn't fair. Men shouldn't be allowed to have eyes like that.

They walked on and, as they turned a corner, the house came into view. Thank goodness, Callie thought. She might have been walking on a firm graveled path, but it had felt in some ways like she'd been negotiating a marsh, full of traps for the unwary.

He was a very dangerous man! She glanced at him and found him watching her.

"I'm so relieved," he told her.

Callie could not imagine what he was talking about. "Relieved?"

"That you're not afraid of my thumbs. I think they're quite nice thumbs — for thumbs, that is. Don't you think?" He spread his hands out for her to inspect, and though it was clearly ridiculous, she couldn't help glancing at his hands.

"What do you think?" he asked.

She gave them a second critical look and sniffed. "All I can see is that your thumbs are rather large," she said in a quelling voice.

He gave her a slow smile. "Exactly."

Callie had no idea why she should blush, but she did. "I think our breakfast will be ready now," she said and marched briskly back to the breakfast room.

He strolled along beside her. "Yes, I'm ravenous." The way he said it, he didn't just mean for food.

Callie walked faster.

* * *

On one level it's a conversation about nothing much, really, but on another, the sexy duel has begun; we can see he's all out to seduce her -- starting with nothing but words. And thumbs. LOL.

What are your beloved books and what do you love best about them? Enter my one day contest and win a copy of THE STOLEN PRINCESS.

Anne Gracie

http://www.annegracie.com/

Sasah White | What makes you feel sexy?

What is it about the tease that’s so hot?

You know what I’m talking about. That tingle you get between your thighs when someone exciting catches your eye, or when you catch his. The lingering looks, the hair toss, the silent communication. That time when your blood heats up and your body awakens as you feel the magic of “what if?”

It’s almost … intoxicating.

I used to flirt a lot. Men used to flirt with me. Then I got married. I haven’t gained weight or let myself go, but somehow, I’ve changed. I know it, and they know it. I think it’s because the chase is over. The magic of flirting, the heightened awareness that arcs between two people, the building of anticipation… it’s gone.

And I don’t know exactly when, or how, it disappeared.
The sad thing is, it also seems to have disappeared between my husband and me.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my husband. Grant is still very attractive in every way, and leaving him has never occurred to me. I’d never cheat on him, either.

Yet, I can’t deny that a certain restlessness has been building in me for some time.


That was the prologue to my story WATCH ME, in last years KINK anthology.

I’m the first to admit that the heroines in my stories all have pieces of me in them, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to know that often, the prologues of my stories start out as something I’ve written for myself. Then I tweak, alter, and shift them to fit characters or stories. (I’m not married, and I uhmm… have let myself go a bit. LOL )

So this particular prologue did start as a bit about flirting. I LOVE to flirt. It makes me feel wonderfully sexy and attractive. Strangely enough, working out so hard my sweat drenches my shirt also makes me feel sexy. It reminds me of more adventurous way to work up a good sweat. *wink*

Lipstick makes me feel sexy. I always wear something on my lips, even if it’s a clear gloss or chap stick. I think that goes back to my first infatuation telling me I had a sexy mouth. LOL

In WICKED, my latest release form Berkley, the heroine has a very bold and sassy sexuality. She grew up knowing she was pretty, and that her looks could be used to get what she wanted. Tough and independent after running away from home at a young age…She uses her sexuality to get what she wants (No, she’s not a prostitute, just a big flirt).

She feels sexy when she wears short skirts and tight tops. Until she meets a man who teaches her the power of her sexuality is not in how she looks, but in who she is.

Who doesn’t want that? Who doesn’t want to feel sexy just by being who she is? *sigh* I swear, I fall in love with the hero’s in my stores every time…but I think that’s good right? I mean, if I can’t love them, how can I expect readers too?
Anyway, back to the original topic… I spend a lot of time thinking about what makes a woman feel sexy. What makes them feel attractive, and what makes them want to strip naked and work up a sweat with a man between her thighs. But what makes ME feel that way, might not work for someone else…so tell me…what makes YOU feel sexy? And is it an alluring, sultry sexy? Or a “Let’s get down and dirty” sexy?

Enter my blog contest and "Tell me what makes you feel sexy?" to win a signed copy of WICKED, or SEXY DEVIL. The winner will be notified tomorrow and listed on Fresh Fiction’s contest winner page.

Sasha White

http://www.sashawhite.net/

DECEMBER 14th is the LAST day to enter the Holiday Contests at Fresh Fiction!!!!

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