The Ice Cream Girls

The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson is by no means a frivolous romance read. While the writing style is light and easy, the subject matter is not, for it deals with the heartbreaking issue of an intimate relationship between teacher and his teenage pupils.

The book poses an important question: what is love? What's the difference between a loving and a controlling relationship? Why don't abused partners simply walk away? All this and more camouflaged by a pastel-coloured cover of girls in pink and yellow dresses.

A beautiful, compelling novel. I'll be searching out more of Ms Koomson's books.

Wicked Appetite

Do you know how some books always make you hungry? Janet Evanovich's Wicked Appetite, a book that features seven deadly sins and two gorgeous hunks (blond Diesel and dark Wulf), made me crave carrot cake and raisin bread. How weird is that?

Here's an excerpt from the book:

My name is Elizabeth Tucker. I’m Elizabeth to my


mother, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been

Lizzy to everyone else. And for as long as I can remember,

I’ve baked cupcakes. I enrolled in the culinary arts program

at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island right out of high school,

hoping to someday get a job as a pastry chef. I graduated

J&W in the top ninety- three percent of my class, and I would

have graduated higher, but I flunked gravy. My gravy had

lumps in it, and that pretty much sums up my life so far. Not

that it’s been all bad, more that it hasn’t been entirely smooth.

I grew up in Virginia and when I was in third grade, Billy

Kruger gave me the nickname Buzzard Beak, and I carried it

with me all through grade school. I got my brown eyes and

distinctive nose from Grandpa Harry, and while the nose

wasn’t great, I told myself it could have been worse, because

Billy Kruger’s nickname was Poop Pants.

And then when I was in eighth grade, during a moment ofmisguided curiosity, I made out with Ryan Lukach, and the

jerk told everyone I wore a padded bra. I mean, give me a

break here. I was a late bloomer. Anyway, the truth is, my bra

was so padded I didn’t know I was getting felt up.

I got engaged to fellow classmate Anthony Muggin while I

was at Johnson & Wales. Two weeks after graduation and a

week before the wedding, Anthony and his Uncle Gordo

were caught hijacking a refrigerator truck loaded with sides

of beef. It turned out to be a lucky thing, because after I

visited Anthony in jail and returned the ring, I sobbed myself

through a couple tumblers of vodka, fell off the toilet

in a drunken stupor, crashed into a sink, and broke my

nose. When they patched me up, I was no longer Buzzard

Beak.

So here I am with the cutest nose in town, and I’ve finally

grown breasts. They’re not huge, but they’re better than a

poke in the eye, and I’ve been told they’re perky. Perky is

good, right?

Straight from the HOT Sellers List at Red Rose

Today we're hosting Betty Ann Harris and her very own special agent, LOL.

Q: Betty, tell us about the book.
A: My Very Special Agent is the only erotic book in the Special Agent Series-

Q: Now I'm really listening. Well, actually, I'm interrupting. It's just that I love, love, love erotic books, when they're well written. Go on....
A: The hero, Stephen O'Leary is an extremely good-looking and eligible bachelor, and a top-notch FBI Special Agent. The damsel in distress is the beautiful romance author, Maggie Tyler, who is a young widow, having lost her husband in Desert Storm. A psycho-fan of Maggie's has been stalking her and things have gotten out of control. She's afraid, alone and lonely. The FBI is involved in the case and Stephen is assigned to do whatever he needs to do to keep Maggie alive. He takes her to a rural area in upstate New York where he has a cabin. But Maggie's stalker is closer than they realize, and she is in grave danger. Amidst a beautiful backdrop and surroundings, the two fall in love. But will Maggie's stalker end up killing them both? The psycho is jealous of Stephen and wants Maggie all to himself. Will they survive?

Q: Wow, that's quite a ride! Where can we read it?
A: The book is available in ebook, Kindle and paperback, and you can buy it here:
http://redrosepublishing.com/books/product_info.php?products_id=577



(I'm clicking on the link. Are you?)
 

One of these authors _is_ Eve Summers!

Fifty Shades Of Grey

I tried to read it, really I did. Fifty Shades Of Grey is a hot topic nowadays. You can't be a writer and not have an opinion about it. I did not get past Chapter One.

Guess that in itself is an opinion.

Emerald City by Melody Knight

I'm feeling sad today. Remembering people who passed away. Pop artist Robin Gibb. Sir Edmund Hillary. Writer Melody Knight.

Here's an interview I did with Melody a few years back:

Welcome, Melody Knight. Melody is the author of Emerald City published by Red Rose, her third book with them.

(Click here to buy the book now, without reading anything about it. Come on, be spontaneous!)

Q. What inspired you to write Emerald City, Melody?

A. I've been studying archeology for several years now. My goal is to eventually become a contract archeologist - that is, I'll go to sites and explore the archeological ramifications of construction, and whether building will damage our cultural heritage. As for Emerald City? It combined my love of the paranormal with Egypt, artifacts, and a heated romance. It's difficult to go wrong with those elements!

Q. Is this your first erotic romance? Do you feel the eroticism overshadows the rest of the story?

A. Until two years ago, I'd never written a romance novel. Oh, I'd penned a number of action/SF/fantasy works, but nothing in the romance genre. Last year I attempted my first erotic novella, and quite enjoyed it. Writing erotica makes me feel just a little decadent and unexpected. As for overshadowing the rest of the story? No. I merely heat up the love scenes, making them more explicit. After all, sex is the culmination of a romance. Why shouldn't we write about it?

Q. Tell us a little more about Emerald City. Why that name?

A. Berenike is the Emerald City of the ancients. It was a port and a trading center. At that time, most of the world's emeralds were found within several hundred miles of Berenike, and Cleopatra herself is rumored to have purchased emeralds to give as gifts to foreign dignitaries, often with her face inscribed on the stone surface. The Berenike region is where the story is set, and it's all about Claudia, an archeologist fairly new to dig sites. She has come to Egypt to learn, to be the resident expert on trade networks, and to rid herself of her past life, which includes Nigel. Nigel is her lover, only she has never known him "in the flesh". When she meets CT, another archeologist on the dig, she has to decide between her love for these two men: one living, and the other, dead.

Q. And now, an excerpt from Emerald City...

A. First, Yvonne, I'd just like to thank you for hosting me on your blog!

From Emerald City:
It was midday on the second day when it happened. According to her map, and her sources, there was a small town a mile or so off-road, which the mine workers had once inhabited. No one had done much more than note its existence, and Claudia felt the thrill of discovery. Who knew what a place like that might hold? Other Mons Smaragdus towns had yielded pottery and metals, low grade gemstones, and a variety of other, more homely items. There were sure to be buildings, if the place had been impressive enough to be noted on the map. Gooseflesh danced down her back. The wadi region was laden with small piles of rubble -- the remnants of ancient huts. This township held the promise of oh, so much more.

She readjusted her hat, conscious of her thirst. It seemed she was always conscious of her thirst in this wretched heat! She sucked on her canteen then mustered ahead. No track, so she'd just have to make her way. A couple of times she glanced back at the truck, even climbing one of the little hills to make sure it was still within sight. It was only on the last check that she saw it had disappeared, but that was what she expected. This was hilly country, after all, and the town should be just ahead.

Only, it wasn't, nor could she find the truck. She tried tracing her own footsteps, but this area was rock, rather than sand, and it was no use. Her compass was erratic, due to magnetic deposits, leading her nowhere. Two hours later, dragging her body through the heat, Claudia had to admit it -- I'm lost. Lost in the damned desert. Her water bottle was dry, but she refused to panic. If I don't check in, they'll come looking.

The sun had never been so hot, and Claudia knew she should have been resting midday away instead of hiking. But it was too late -- too late for anything. She rooted around in one of those piles of rocky debris, picking up rocks that burned her hands to pile them into a wall that might offer her partial shade -- if it didn't fall on her head first. She didn't possess the building secrets of the ancient Romans or the Bedouin. And her blistered hands were shaking so badly she didn't know how she'd survive the next few hours.

It was then an icy chill came on her, colder than death.
Nigel!

She didn't speak -- she didn't have to. He was there…for her.

And that link again: http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=243

http://melodyknight.com/

http://www.ndhansen-hill.com/

http://melodyknight.com/

Red Rose Publishing Rocks!

Earlier this week, author Eve Summers received a gorgeous 7-inch e-reader (which is also a notebook and an internet browser) from her publisher, Red Rose Publishing. Wendi Felter, you rock!