One of my favorite expressions when describing a man is “he’s a tall, cool drink of water”  (or something to that effect.)   I’ve never actually written that in a book, but whenever I hear it or read it, it makes me smile.  It’s so perfectly descriptive.  It gives you a picture–but even better, it gives you a feeling.  A man who can quench a hot, dry thirst.

When I think of the hero of my new Blaze, visually represented so perfectly on the cover of TOO HOT TO TOUCH (are the August covers not fantastic or WHAT?) I think the expression applies…though I have to substitute water with sangria, because Alejandro Aguilar is…well, Alejandro Aguilar.  He’s cool…that’s for sure.  He’s intense and powerful and handsome.  He hails from a part of the world that takes things like loyalty and honor very seriously…so much so that after working with my heroine, Lucienne Bonet, for nearly two months, he knows he has to have her.  But she’s his employee!  He can’t cross that line.  There’s only one option open to him…

She flicked her fingers beneath the flap, her gaze trained on Alejandro, who gave nothing away.  She slipped two sheets of paper out and scanned each one with confusion.

The first was a glowing letter of recommendation.  The second, a certified check.

A check with a lot of zeroes.

Not enough zeroes to get Daniel out of trouble, but maybe enough to buy his safety until she found Ramon’s ring.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Your commission.  Or at least, an estimate based on your projections for the auction.  Should we take in more, I’ll make sure you get the adjusted amount.”

“And if you make less?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, then braced his hands on the arms of her chair so that his cologne, a warm musk with a hint of tobacco and leather, sizzled through his crisp, white shirt.  “Our business always includes a certain amount of risk.  It will be worth it if it means I’ll have more time with you.”

She tucked the check and the letter back into the envelope, trying to hide how her hands shook.  “I thought you were firing me.”

His dark irises simmered and when his tongue slid slowly across his bottom lip.  “Oh, I am.  But only because I have a very strict policy against seducing my employees.”

Once again, her heartbeat hammered within her chest, hampering her ability to breathe without gulping in air.  Or worse, panting.

He grinned.  “I’ve surprised you.”

She opened her mouth to inhale, but the added awareness of his intoxicating scent only knocked her further into sensory overload.

When he moved even closer, she drew back and said, “No.”

It was a quiet no.  Barely audible.  And yet, Alejandro had instantly complied.

He arched a brow, but moved no more than an inch in retreat.  “Or perhaps you’ve surprised me.”

She flicked her thumbnail on the corner of the envelope. The clicking noise kept pace with her stuttering pulse.  He was so close.  The space of a breath separated his lips from hers.  Until he’d breached the invisible boundary of her personal space, she hadn’t realized just how long it had been since she’d kissed a man—any man, much less one she barely knew and who possessed the scruples to resist toying with an employee.

An employee whose ultimate goal was to rip him off.

She had to reach deep within her Lucienne persona for an adequate reply.  “You didn’t expect me to collapse instantly into your arms, did you?”

His eyes widened with even more surprise.  “I believed our attraction to be mutual.”

She smiled, glad when he backed up a bit, giving her room to inhale deeply.  “Who says it isn’t?”

“You’re not exactly jumping at the chance to—”

“Fall into bed with you?”

The corner of his mouth quirked into a reluctant grin.  “Even I’m not that presumptuous.”

She quirked an eyebrow.  “Then what else did you have in mind?”

“This is San Francisco,” he replied, his voice a warm drizzle of rich, dark chocolate, “a bastion of fine dining and entertainment.  Perhaps we could start with dinner or a concert.  Maybe a stroll the wharf.  I haven’t seen much beyond the walls of this auction house or the lobby of my hotel, but I’d like to see more.  With you.”

Again, his gaze swept over her with such potent scrutiny, she knew that what he truly wished to see more of was her body, preferably naked and supine beneath his.  Instantaneously, her nipples pebbled and chafed against the transparent lace of her bra.  Sweet pressure pulsed between her legs.  He was interested in her—and vice-versa.

Oh?  Did I mention that Lucienne’s name isn’t really Lucienne…and that’s she’s been lying to him for months…and that she’s only working for him so she can steal a valuable ring he inherited from his father, a man he’s hated since he was three years old?  It’s all very tawdry and tragic and conflicted and romantic and … well, it’s the kind of situation a woman might need a whole pitcher of sangria to survive, if you know what I’m saying.

I love writing this kind of hero.  One reviewer compared Alex (the name he goes by with friends) to a Presents hero.  I don’t know if they meant it as a compliment or if they were basing this opinion on ethnicity alone, but Alex does have a lot in common with those powerful men of industry who command those virgin brides in our sister line.  Luckily for Blaze readers, however, Lucienne ain’t no virgin bride.  She’s a woman with a purpose–and a woman with a libido.  Putting them together was a joy and I can’t wait to hear what readers think about it.  The book is available in stores now, as well as online.

And just like all the August Blazes, the 10th Anniversary special edition of  TOO HOT TO TOUCH includes a *free* bonus book!  In my case, it’s a copy of EXPOSED, Blaze #4!  The books are connected in that they’re both set in the same city–San Francisco.

So tell me…what kind of drink describes your favorite kind of hero?

People ask me all the time how I get the ideas for my books. The truth is, from everywhere. I’m inspired by music, television, film, pop culture, people I see on the street, airports, restaurants, people from my past, the past, present, what I think the future might be and dreams. I never lack for ideas — ever.

My May release, Truth and Dare, was inspired by my past and my love of the television show Bones. I don’t actually want to see Booth and Bones get together on the show. It would would ruin it. But I do sometimes wonder what would happen if they did get together. Would it be explosive fireworks? Would we see the passionate side of Bones?

Of course, my story is very different from the show. My hero is a business man/cowboy who is helping Patience, a forensic anthropologist who seldom gets out of the office, solve his father’s murder. A murder that took place 20 years ago. Funny thing is, when I called her Patience, it didn’t dawn on me until someone mentioned it that I’d played on Temperance on Bones. Funny how that stuff happens.

The my story part: I lived in Houston but every summer as a teen I hung out at my grandparent’s farm in a small East Texas town. It was surrounded by lakes and so much of my time was spent on the water. I had my share of cowboys for boyfriends and I have to say there’s something sexy about a guy who can ride a bull. It was fun thinking back to those days. There were street dances on July 4th, and all kinds of festivals in nearby towns. I love small towns.

So today I would like to hear from you. What inspires you? Who inspires you? If you post here, you could win a $25 Amazon gift certificate.

Win a copy!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! With my name and freckles, it’d be irresponsible not to mention the holiday. And with my Blaze debut just around the corner, I’d be negligent not to run a little contest and invite you all to try your own luck at scoring a paperback copy of Caught on Camera!

My April Blaze is chock full of luck…much of it bad luck. The story is about an Australian hot-shot TV survival show host, Ty, and his long-suffering production assistant, Kate, lost in the snowy wilds of Saskatchewan following an ill-fated dogsled crash. But they aren’t just boss-and-assistant, traveling companions, and professional partners—they’re also best friends with two-plus years of repressed sexual attraction, sizzling enough to melt all that snow.

For more information about the book, click here. And if you’re interested in a chance to win a copy, just leave a comment on the topic of luck, and I’ll select a random winner (maybe two) at 2pm EST on Sunday, and announce it in an addendum to this post.

Good luck, and enjoy your St. Paddy’s Day!

Sláinte,

Meg

Addendum!

Winner time! Thanks to everyone who participated! I decided to pick two winners, and selected them at random with the help of random.org. They are (drumroll) …

Summer and Laney4!

I will do my best to sleuth out your e-mails and get in touch soon for your mailing addresses. If you don’t hear from me by Tuesday, e-mail me at meg (at) megmaguire (dot) com.

Thanks, everyone!

I don’t know what it is about spring, but it feels like new beginnings to me. Maybe it’s all the sunshine after so many cloudy days. Could be the thawing of my feet, which seem to stay frozen through winter. I always feel like cleaning house as spring begins to bloom outside. It’s that spring cleaning, need a fresh start, I guess. I say I feel like, it but right now I don’t have the time. I have a book due in another month, two (She Who Dares, Wins and Truth and Dare) coming out over the next two months and grad school is CRAZY with deadlines this month. Still, I had to at least clean off my desk. It always makes me feel so much better if I can see the wood underneath. And as the weeks go on I’ll do a bit more. When the book is finished, I’ll go through this mad cleaning spree (I always do). When this happens, my husband comes home and says, “Who are you? And what have you done with my wife?” I’m not kidding.

I took a few moments to take some pics so I could show you some of the other signs of spring around the Havens’ household.

Gizmo loves to play in the mud as you can see from his face and paws. Time for a trip to the Beauty Shop.

If we don’t brush Scoobie every day, we end up having dust bunnies the size of Godzilla as her winter coat sheds.

I woke up the other day and the pear trees had bloomed overnight.

It won’t be long before those gorgeous smelling Gardenias bloom. They make the front entry so fragrant.

My husband’s rose bushes are also starting to green up. I love the way the flowers make the house smell.

Tell me what spring means to you.

Happy Spring Y’all!

Change sometimes happens so smoothly you hardly notice it. I have only realized recently that my entire way of finding books has changed, and for the better, I think. I find many more new books now, more new authors, and I read more. That’s always good, right?

In the past, probably the top three ways I found books were looking for authors I already knew, by recommendations from friends/family, and by serendipitous finds when wandering the bookstore or in the grocery store. I’ll admit that changing over to Kindle and e-reading, almost exclusively, probably triggered the biggest changes in my book-buying as well.

I think I have found almost all of my books, in the last year or so, via Twitter, Facebook, and searching publisher websites. Other times, I just do random searches at Amazon to see what comes up, or I follow my Kindle recommendations, or look at various Book Blogs. Kindle has definitely affected what books I buy with their free offerings – I discovered Karen Moning, Richelle Mead and several other authors through their free book offerings.

But the influence of Twitter and Facebook have been huge for me. Not because people promo there (I almost never buy books because someone is pushing one at me), but because I have the chance to just talk with so many new authors whom I may never have crossed paths with before. I usually end up buying their books, normally several in a series. I can name at least a dozen authors I have added to my reading list just from conversations online. I also talk with a lot of other readers online, which is a great resource. There’s a decent chance that I never would have found these new authors at all via my old methods.

I don’t troll the bookstores or shelves often anymore, and I know that’s not entirely a good thing, especially in light of bookstore closings, but, on President’s Day here in the US, I can’t lie — I find books in completely new ways now, and I am buying more, and reading more… so maybe it balances out?

I don’t know. How about you? Do you still find your books the same way, or have you discovered more/different paths to reading? Do you find these new venues lead you to buying more books?

his hat? (yes, HAT). LOL I posed this question on Twitter yesterday as I had my heroine in a new Blaze bet a friend about who could get a cowboy to give her his hat at a party. But there are rules: 1) You can’t ask for it 2) You can’t tell him about the bet and 3) He has to let you wear it for the rest of the party.

On Twitter, I received a lot of funny replies, the most amusing from the western women I follow: “Who would want it?” (all sweaty, LOL) and “Good luck — maybe if you shot him.” Although there was a tip of the hat (so to speak) to chivalry — a cowboy might give up his hat if a woman didn’t have one of her own and was in the hot sun or the rain, etc.

Just for fun, I did a little cowboy hat search on Google and found these fun bits of info:

* I discovered, via the Mythbusters TV show site, that a cowboy hat cannot be shot from someone’s head without injuring or killing the wearer (never know when that little tidbit could come in handy)
* John B Stetson created the first cowboy hat in 1865 for his own comfort, which he sold to a passer-by right off his head for a gold piece — and then opened a factory that was selling around 2 million hats 50 years later.
* A ten-gallon hat actually holds about a half-gallon
* “While it remained a universal image of the American West, subtle differences in the shade, shape size, and style provided accurate information about the cowboy’s background and geographic base.” (www.everycowgirlsdream.com)
* Men tip their hat when saying hello to a woman, take it off when introduced. They don’t tip their hat to another man, they just nod.

There are all kinds of etiquette about when to tip, take off, leave on, etc that I am sure gets interpreted in a number of ways in the real world, but what I’d really like to know is any insider knowledge you all have about cowboys and their hats (something I heard once, that women would steal the hat of a guy they wanted to kiss or…get to know a lot better *G* — true?). Or, tell me how YOU would get a cowboy to hand his hat over to you.

At the end of the day, I’ll choose three comments to win a copy of any book from my backlist as thanks for helping me think about cowboys and their. . .hats.

Do you make resolutions for the New Year? I interview celebs for the day job and I’ve been asking all of them this question for the past two months. Their answer was always, NO. Some, like Nancy O’Dell make affirmations for the new year. Hers is to stay positive. When I asked Scott Underwood from the band Train about resolutions, he says for him it’s just about surviving in the winter time. He makes his resolutions in the spring, which he says is when he feels inspired.

I’ll admit that I don’t make resolutions, but I do make goals. It’s important for me to see what I’ve accomplished and to have a goal or two or ten to reach for in the long term. I also make goals for different parts of my life.

But I realized I’ve never made goals to have fun. And that’s something I’ve been missing. In the past I’ve often shared my work goals, but seldom my personal ones. This year I’m shaking things up. I’m putting it all out there into the universe for all to see. And I’d love it if you would share some of yours.

Candy’s Goals

Books/Writing
1. To remember this is therapy for me and that it isn’t just about getting the words on the page. It’s about telling a good story.
2. To give myself enough time to really make the story what I want it to be.
3. To write at least three books this year.
4. To sell my YA
5. To finish my Devil’s Girl book
6. To promote the heck out of She Who Dares, Wins and Truth and Dare
7. To finish The Model Marine.

School
1. Keep my 4.0.
2. Make time for studying, at least 15 hours a week.
3. Remember why I love it so much.

Work
1. Try to work ahead as much as possible.
2. Remember that I have some pretty cool day jobs as a TV and Film critic, and to appreciate the benefits that affords me.
3. To shake off the small day to day stuff.
4. To always let my interviewee tell a good story.

Personal
1. I want to eat good food. The kind that nourishes my body and makes me feel good. I’ve given up on diets, but I want to eat foods that help me out in the long run.
2. Cut out sugar. It’s like crack for me, and I have to look at it as a gateway drug for bad eating. I feel so much better when I don’t eat it. (I’ve written this after I had two chocolate chip cookies before breakfast. Sigh.)
3. To organize my office and buy furniture so that I can keep it that way.
4. To be a kinder and more understanding person.
5. To remember how cool my life is and to be grateful for it.

Fun Goals!
1. To spend more time with my best buds.
2. To travel somewhere that I need a passport.
3. To get a passport.
4. To go to RWA in NYC this summer.
5. To do a book tour in April and May traveling to see many of my lovely friends.
6. To learn French. (I suck at languages but I’ve ALWAYS wanted to learn French.)
7. To make 1 hour a day just fun or meditation time.
8. To sleep more.
9. To spend more time doing fun things with my kids and The Hub.
10. To laugh out loud really hard at least once a day.

So I’ve showed you mine, now you show me yours.

Happy New Year!

Have you ever joined the Perfect Gift Holiday Quest? One year it was the Tickle Me Elmo, another it was that hot new (only available in limited quantities) gaming system. It’s always highly promoted, stingily available and requires hours of store-to-store searching or these days, online cruising to find at a decent price. And worst of all is when the few items available are all bought up, then resold at crazy high prices.

Or there’s the brainstorm gift. You know, the ‘wouldn’t it be perfect to get mom a replacement figurine like the one she loved and we broke to pieces when we were kids’ kind of gift (not that I’d ever do that… this is fiction, mom. I really don’t know how that got busted!) Yet another quest of searching, digging, hoping and craziness.

Or my favorite… the husband gift. Or for anyone that has everything, and seems impossible to please or buy for because if they wanted it, they’d already have it, right?

I’m not a big quester. Mostly because I’m lazy and hate crowds. I want to get the gift, get out of the store and wrap it up all pretty so it can decorate my tree, darn it! I’m not good at searching out bargains or finding those killer deals, if it’s there and I can afford it, yay, I’m done shopping! So usually, I try to get my holiday shopping done well before Thanksgiving, which means missing out on the hot quest-worthy toys.

Except this year. I had a late start, but was still on track to hit my done-by-Thanksgiving deadline. My niece wanted a set of fairy dolls. Easy peasy, they were on Amazon. I put them in my shopping cart, but before I hit that buy button, I needed to check on a gift for my daughter (did she or didn’t she already have her own copy of The Princess Bride). By the next day when I went back to Amazon to place that order, the fairies were no longer available. Anywhere on earth. Well, anywhere on earth for a decent price. ARGH!!! Now I’m an unwilling quester.

Interestingly enough (sorta), the heroine in my upcoming novella, A BABE IN TOYLAND had a similar quest. She’s out to get the perfect gift for her parents. Something she knows they’ll love, and even better, something that will prove that she’s doing well enough for herself to afford this fabulous gift they’ll love. But then she loses her job… and is in danger of losing her chance to get that perfect gift.

Of course, her quest involves misfit sex toys and a hot hunky hero… so I think she’s going to have a lot more fun than I will as I trudge out in the cold searching for fairies.

How about you? Have you ever done the Perfect Gift Holiday Quest? Did you find that perfect gift? Was it worth it?

Sometimes, in the midst of work, life, family, obligations, and the rest, we need to do something special that gives us a boost, but it’s often harder for us to give gifts to ourselves than to others. Like opening a nice bottle of wine, going for a massage or a manicure, having a long bath with candles lit and a good book, or buying something that we would not ordinarily buy for ourselves.

A little self-indulgence now and then is good for the soul, I say. In my case, it came in an unexpected form this fall, when I received a store coupon for a Coach bag in the mail. I was going to give it to a family member to use, but as I looked for a winter bag and couldn’t find one, that coupon became very tempting. I thought, what if I used it for myself? Normally, I never even bother going into the Coach store, except to browse and think “why would anyone spend that much on a bag?”

Well, now I know. I decided I wanted to find THE bag. A bag good for the grocery store but nice enough to go out to dinner. Jeans or dress clothes. All seasons. It had to be perfect.

I found it. It took me three hours of walking around the mall to talk myself into using that coupon and buying it, but I did. As you can see, it’s a rather understated, classic bag, but I love the black leather and the silver hardware, the grommets, buckles and the adjustable strap. The leather is like satin — just touching it is a joy. I understand the difference now in the construction of a high-quality bag — the zipper opens and closes completely without effort, the strap is comfortable, the pockets are just right. I love every single little detail.

Even buying it was a treat. The sales people fall all over you, of course, and I love the little touches, like your receipt being all folded up nicely and put in a pretty little cardboard holder. It comes with a silky storage bag that it will likely never see. I am happy every time I look at it, take it somewhere, and get to coo over it with a friend. I have not had one second of buyer’s regret. In fact, I may be spoiled for life. My husband, bless him, didn’t even blink, never asked how much it cost. I showed it to him, and he admired the style and the liked the silver hardware, and then went back to what he was doing. Many, many reasons why I love this man.

So. . .that was my indulgence this fall, and I think it will be one that gives me a boost daily for a long time. What big or little things have you done for yourself lately? And if nothing, what would you like to do? The holidays, while fun, can be stressful, and a little self-indulgence is called for, I say. On that theme, maybe I can help you along a little. If you post here, I will pick a winner on Monday morning to receive the basket pictured to the left (the wonderful Joanne Rock and I put it together for you — full of bath items, books, and chocolate!). (Unfortunately, due to increased postage rates, I have to make this a US only giveaway, sorry.)

Is there anyone who doesn’t love cookies, or who doesn’t have a special cookie in their life? Maybe one your mom made, or one your family loves? Or decadent ones at the store that you only let yourself buy for a special treat?

In my spankin’ new release, MAKE YOUR MOVE, Jodie Patterson owns a Chicago bakery, and the frosting on her special “Passionate Hearts” cookies is very popular. With the help of a special formula created by her best friend and business partner, Dan, a scientific genius, the frosting provides a little erotic kick to female pheromones, helping women who eat them get any man they desire.

Now, I have never had a cookie that did that, exactly, but a few that come close. One family recipe for a cookie we often make is my husband’s favorite, and when I make them, he certainly gets a spark in his eye — a rich cookie wrapped around a mix of fudge and nuts, dusted with powdered sugar. I brought some to the Toronto Harlequin offices on my last visit, and I don’t know if they sparked any libidos, but I did get notes from people who seemed to like them just as much as my friends and family do. My own personal favorite is a simple but delicate sugar cookie I make (and I do shape them into hearts and frost them) and they really melt in your mouth. I grew up making cookies, especially all kinds of ethnic, Italian and Ukrainian recipes that I learned from my mom and her friends, and they are a regular fixture at Christmas and holidays.

However, I love store cookies, too. Pepperidge Farms make the most sinful ones, I think, especially their Amaretto Milanos, though Brussels are my absolutely favorites. On a more everyday level, I won’t pass up an Oreo, and love Nutter-Butter cookies, too! I will say one cookie I never did enjoy was a Fig Newton, but I know several people who love them.

So what is your favorite cookie? Does your family have special cookie recipes you always use, or that everyone loves? Share, and one commenter will win a copy of MAKE YOUR MOVE along with these gorgeous Harry and David cookies (US shipping only), and two others will win signed copies of MAKE YOUR MOVE (all eligible).