I couldn’t come up with a specific blog theme so today I’m going to treat you — hahahahahaha — to a consortium of random musings concerning my current obsessions. I know…try to contain yourself.

1) I’m obsessed with the weather. I probably blog more about the weather than any other author on this loop. What can I say other than it was a freakin’ wonderful 70 degrees Farenheit yesterday in Atlanta, GA? What I can say is that I’m sick of being cold. I know some of you live in a veritable winter wonderland where snow drifts are higher than your cat/car/house (pick one of the aforementioned) and I hate that for you. However, I’ll tell you what I hate even more…I live in a really cool loft apartment that is over 100 years old complete with huge factory windows that are single-paned. When I say it’s a cool apartment, well…take that both figuratively and literally. I’ve frozen my behonkus off this winter. When I finally decided to up my heat (and we’re not talking balmy here, folks — I’m still in a long-sleeved shirt with a sweatshirt over it), well, I got that gas bill. And had a heart attack. I’m trying to decide if I want to hock my dog on Craig’s List to fund my payment.

2) I’m not quite there yet, but I’m close to obsessed with working out. I did two classes back-to-back last night. Although the first one didn’t really count because it was a Step class and I’m so spastic I couldn’t get any of the steps down other than the basic up on the step and back down again thing.

3) Musicals. All of a sudden I’m planning to see Fiddler on the Roof and South Pacific within a four-week time span. I’d kind of forgotten how much I like musicals. Wonder when I might be able to catch Okalahoma?

So, that just about covers my current obsessions. What about you? What’s caught and held your attention lately?

I just finished my sixth book, which will be a September release, and cannot describe the sense of satisfaction I have. The book, called HOT-BLOODED, will be the first book in a 3-book mini-series called It Takes a Hero.

This story is about a woman who works for the Department of Defense, who impulsively volunteers to do a six-month deployment to Iraq. She’s heard stories about the quality of life in the Green Zone, complete with fitness center, fast-food restaurants, and lots of soldiers to keep her safe. But when a last minute directive sends her to a remote outpost in Afghanistan, where a certain hard-bodied special ops soldier is also stationed, she realizes she’s in way over her head. Think Private Benjamin meets Call of Duty.

This story is also meaningful to me, in that a good friend of mine recently returned from a deployment to Iraq. Like me, she is a civilian with no military training or background. I thought she’d be anxious to return to the States, but she actually extended her deployment and stayed for fifteen months. It seems she met a soldier over there and they’re returning home together…

What about you? Do you enjoy stories about military heroes? What about military heroines?

Congratulations to Michele L and Patricia, you’ve both won a copy of Her Best Friend. Send me your snail mail addys, and I will get some books in the mail to you ASAP. Thanks everyone else for popping in to chat – and for reassuring me that I’m not the only freak of nature out there!!! Until next month….

Original post:
My friend forwarded me an article recently that really got my back up. Basically, the author of this article contended that women like to be wooed by men – taken out for a night of fine dining and a “sophisticated” theatre show, then home for some “casual flirting” on the doorstep before parting company. Men, on the other hand, would prefer a big burger, a war movie with lots of stuff blowing up, then a dash to the closest motel for “wild monkey sex”.

Now, maybe I’m a freak of nature, but I have always hated the stereotype that women are precious, unattainable vessels that must be wooed and feted and gifted and schmoozed into a) going out with men and then b) allowing them access to their bodies. You know what I mean, the whole box-of-chocolates and bunch-of-roses on arrival cliche – as though we need to be offered collateral up front before we would even consider going out and getting to know someone or (God forbid) having sex with them.

This is so far from my experience of the dating world that it always makes me feel like I live on a separate planet when I see these scenarios in movies and books and TV shows. Maybe dating is different down here in Australia (for starters, we don’t really call it “dating”. It’s usually “seeing someone” or “going out”), but when I was single and I went out with a guy it was on the basis that I wanted to get to know them as a person. Could something happen here? Could he be The One? Or, at least, could he have the potential to be The One? It wasn’t about him proving himself to me or investing dollars to impress me – we were two people exploring the possibilities.

And, you know, sometimes those possibilities included sex. Because women – just like men – have Needs. The very fact that the Blaze line exists is testament to the fact that women have Needs. Just like men, we enjoy sex. I know, it’s a revolutionary concept. Imagine having sex with someone simply because you found them attractive and likable and wanted to have sex rather than because you felt obliged or because he’d jumped through all the flaming hoops in the correct order (the flowers, the chocolates, the big meal, the fancy show…). Imagine!

While I’m ranting, I also object to the fact that the things us women supposedly prefer are so…uptight and not-fun. I mean, fine dining and sophisticated theatre over a burger and a shoot ‘em up movie? Who would you prefer to hang out with? Don’t get me wrong, I like a nice meal out as much as the next lady, but if someone held a gun to my head and made me choose between negotiating haute cuisine and pantyhose and snooty waiters and scary wine lists or a big, juicy burger on the beach with my favorite guy, I know what I’d be opting for. As for opera versus Con Air or any other action movie…again, pass the popcorn.

I had a good rant about all this with my man after reading the article, but then it occurred to me that maybe I really am a freak of nature. Maybe this is the way the rest of the world operates…? Maybe I’m the only burger-loving, action-movie-enjoying woman out there who would prefer to pay her own way rather than be showered with gifts and attention…? I’d really love to hear from readers on this one – what do you expect from a man? What’s your idea of a great first date (a real world one, not a fantasy one)? Do you want to be wooed and made to feel precious before you even think about offering up the keys to the kingdom? Am I hugely out of touch…?

I’m giving away two copies of my latest SuperRomance to posters this month. Her Best Friend is available now at eHarlequin, and will be on the shelves in April. It’s about Amy and Quinn, two people who grew up next door to each other and have known each other all their lives, and what happens when Quinn returns home with his divorce papers in hand. Post away and I’ll choose two winners over the next few days. Looking forward to your answers!

Do I have your attention? Good. Because I’m not talking about what you think I am. No. Instead, I’m addressing the commitment that may exist between you and your reading choices. Are you married to a certain genre? Devoted to a specific line? Since this is the Blaze Authors blog, it’s a pretty good bet that you’re a series reader. But are you faithful to only Blaze? Or do you stray every now and again and sample other genres? Pick the enticing novels up in shadowy bookstores, fondle them, hold them close, inhale their stories like a musky, forbidden scent?

I guess what I’m really asking is have you considered cheating on Blaze with our girl Sofie Metropolis?

Sofie is our sassy Greek-American series character, budding P.I. and Queens girl. She’s starred in several of books so far, with the fourth title, WORKING STIFF, now available everywhere in paperback. She has a wacky Greek family; a sometimes insufferable but always adorable male Jack Russell terrier named Muffy who is both her roommate and sidekick; and so far she’s gotten herself into more trouble than she can get out of…especially in the love department with the presence of two men in her life that tempt and frustrate her no end: the hot, mysterious bounty hunter Jake Porter, and the sexy, mouthwatering Greek baker Dino Antonopoulos.

If you enjoy our Blazes, I’d like to encourage you to give Sofie Metropolis a try. At the very least, she’ll keep you entertained between our steamier titles. At most…well, she just may persuade you to expand your reading interests and turn your single act of infidelity into a full-blown affair!

Come on: take a walk on the wild side – Greek style!

To make things a little more interesting, we’re offering up copies of the first three titles in the series – SOFIE METROPOLIS, DIRTY LAUNDRY and FOUL PLAY – to one lucky poster at day’s end. All you need do to qualify is say ‘hi!’ Good luck!

I’m pumped!

As I write this I have ten more days to wait for the release of Possessing Morgan. I received my author copies when I returned from a tour through California in January.

Yes, we drove through downpours. (LA was a mess – they have a hard time remembering that those first rains loosen the slick oil that accumulates in the dry season)

Hearst Castle was closed because of high winds that rattled off some roof tiles. The tourist pavilion was littered with buckets to collect the rain. But the surf at San Simeon was spectacular.

And Carmel? Marvelous. Just marvelous. The storms created high waves and beautiful light and dark skies over the ocean. It’s special to see a storm approach.

None of those sights were as thrilling as holding my first Blaze. It’s a beautiful book filled with words I wrote. The back cover copy is brilliant and I couldn’t have written it if I’d had a gun to my head. This captures the book exactly:

He’s everything she’s ever wanted . . .

Repo woman Morgan Swann can hardly believe it. She’s been hopelessly infatuated with headline-stealing heartthrob Kingston “Mac” McRae for most of her life . . . and now she’s in his driveway, about to repossess his fancy car. If only she could pick up the rest of him so easily . . .

Mac can’t believe, it either. His car is being stolen. . . but all he can think about is getting the sexy-as-hell Morgan into the the backseat. And their engines only rev hotter once she shows him how easily her Daisy Duke shorts come off.

It’s a sweaty, fast ride — the ultimate thrill. Until Morgan realizes she wants not only the fantasy, but the key to Mac’s heart as well.

I’m especially happy with the 4 Star review from RT BookReviews Magazine that reads:

POSSESSING MORGAN (4) by Bonnie Edwards:* Repo woman Morgan Swann loves her job. As a teenager she got into trouble for stealing cars, but she’s pulled her life together, using an early crush on playboy Kingston McRae as inspiration. She decided to make herself into someone she could imagine with him. When Morgan gets a chance to re-possess a car on his estate, she jumps at it. But not so fast. Kingston has a serious stalker who’s threatening him and those around him. When Morgan becomes entangled in his life, will either be safe? Edwards combines very hot sex with an unusual heroine to make her latest a winner.

*—Page Traynor*

To celebrate the upcoming release, I’m going to offer a signed copy of Possessing Morgan to one lucky commenter today. What the heck…let’s make it two!

I’ll announce the winners at approximatley 8 p.m. Eastern time…

I have a confession to make. I get so SICK this time of year of bright red hearts and display upon display of cards and candies and stuffed animals and candles and bath oil… It goes on and on. And have you ever actually gone out to eat on Valentine’s Day? Restaurants are crowded, servers are run off their feet and instead of an intimate, romantic evening, I end up feeling stressed. Or worse, checking out the other couples and trying to gauge if they are really in love and if so, whereabouts on the scale of new-found passion to married-so-long-they-have-nothing-left-to-say to each other that these people fall. I’ve always thought that the most romantic gestures are the spontaneous ones. Of course, that said, I often end up writing Valentine themed stories. For instance, right now, I’m in a NASCAR Valentine collection with Vicki Lewis Thompson and Dorien Kelly called Racing Hearts. In it, my heroine’s planned Valentine’s Day goes horribly wrong. And last year, Under the Influence featured a workaholic heroine who stumbles into a restaurant not even realizing that it’s V Day. Luckily she meets the world’s most adorable bartender and well, the rest is all the good stuff that makes up a Blaze. One of the reviewers at All About Romance chose UTF as her favorite book of 2009. I was so thrilled by the honor that I will send a copy of Under the Influence to someone who leaves a comment. However you choose to spend this special weekend, whether with a lover, with friends, or curled up with your cat, make sure and do something nice for yourself. 

Happy Reading,

Nancy

I want nothing from my husband on Valentine’s Day.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t turn down roses or a card or anything. I guess I mean I don’t need anything from my husband on Valentine’s Day.

That’s because he makes me feel loved, needed, wanted and appreciated all year long. That sounds hokey, I know. He’s no saint, believe me, but he brings home flowers for no particular reason, buys me athletic socks after overhearing me mumbling about the holes in mine, and the words “I love you” roll off his tongue pretty regularly.

There have been periods of time over the years when I’ve felt lonely, under-appreciated, taken for granted maybe. If that went on very long, you can bet I’d be tapping my foot on my birthday or Valentine’s Day, expecting some tangible proof that he’d thought about me. And it better not be from a Seven-Eleven, either.

There are also bad Valentine’s Day gifts, as I’m sure you know. One year, he brought home a big box of chocolates and I wanted to throw them at his head.

Why? Because I’d been fighting a hard battle with about twenty pounds of post-baby cargo I had just begun making headway on losing The last thing I needed was a box of chocolates I would plow through without even sitting down first. That was no gift. It was an assault.

Which brings me to the question of what makes a good gift, for Valentine’s Day or any day. My theory is it should be personalized, something your loved one noticed about you, only you, a secret wish or a longed-for treat.

What do you think about celebrating Valentine’s Day and gifts and cards? What was your best Valentine’s Day? What made it that way?

In honor of the holiday, I’m giving away a few books. Tell me your Valentine’s Day tale and you’ll be part of my drawing.

May you have the Valentine’s Day of your dreams.
Best,
Dawn Atkins
www.dawnatkins.com

Wait…it is your birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRENDA CHIN!

You got it folks, the Queen Bee of Blaze is…wait…I haven’t totally lost my mind. I’m not about to divulge an actual number. Just suffice it to say that Brenda isn’t another year older…simply another year better!

So, please join me in wishing Brenda a Happy Birthday…and many more!!

When it comes to watching sports, I was always pretty much a “take-it-or-leave-it” kind of gal–I didn’t mind tuning in to the big game, but hey, if you’d rather go out to dinner, no problem.  But then I discovered tennis. Or, more to the point, tennis players.  MEN tennis players.  BLAZING HOT MEN tennis players.  Have you ever seen the men’s Spanish tennis team?  Holy game, set, match!  They’re a biological miracle.  I’m not sure what they’re feeding these guys, but whatever it is, it definitely does a body good.  So today I’m going to share with you some of my favorites (you’re welcome!).

First up is Rafael Nadal.  He’s from Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain.  I think we should all go there.  Immediately. 

 

Next is Feliciano Lopez.  He is RIDICULOUSLY handsome.  Seriously, if the tennis gig doesn’t work out for him, he can become a model. Or my pool boy (note to self:  must get pool).

 

Last, but not least, is Fernando Verdasco. Dios mio, that is one fine looking man. AND he’s talented.  He can be my pool boy on Feliciano’s days off.  (note to self: put a rush order on that pool).

 

Okay, as if that isn’t enough, here’s one of my future pool boys, Feliciano and Fernando, together.

 

And last but not least, for your viewing pleasure, the perfect storm of tennis hotness–Rafael, Feliciano, and Fernando.

So—do you like any sports?  If so, which ones, and who are your favorite athletes?  Have I managed to convert you into a tennis fan? (just keep in mind that Rafael, Feliciano, and Fernando are MINE!!)

xox Jacquie–tennis fan for LIFE!!

Hey, all! This is going to be a short one. I have a Blaze due Feb 15th, and my editor is going to be wildly annoyed with me if it’s not on time.

I just wanted to pop in and say how awesome our Blaze babes are. I can occasionally come up with a good title, but I generally suck at them. I put out the SOS to my fellow writers a couple of weeks ago for a title, and they came up with HER PRIVATE TREASURE. Great, yes? (My hero is a lawyer and my heroine is an FBI agent, and they’re trying to solve a jewel robbery/smuggling case—in addition to finding lots of beachy places to have steamy sex.) It’ll be out in September, so be sure to look for it!

And thanks so much to my girls for bailing me out—again. You guys rock!!