Coffee, Chocolate, and Time Travel

I have a special guest at Vintage Vonnie today and I'm excited to have her. Some of you know I'm trying to write my first paranormal--Scottish shape shifters. So imagne my glee at having Dawn Marie Hamilton as a guest. It's a **SQUEE!!** moment, folks. Dawn Marie Hamilton dares you to dream, so she does. She is a 2013 RWA®Golden Heart® Finalist who pens Scottish-inspired fantasy and paranormal romance. Some of her tales are rife with mischief-making faeries, brownies, and other fae creatures. More tormented souls—shape shifters, vampires, and maybe a zombie or two—stalk across the pages of other stories. She is a member of The Golden Network, Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal, Celtic Hearts, and From the Heart chapters of RWA. When not writing, she’s cooking, gardening, or paddling the local creeks with her husband.

 

Thank you, Vonnie, for having me on your blog today.

 

Coffee and chocolate and cabernet sauvignon are some of my favorite things. Can you hear the song from the Sound of Music?

Now, imagine being tossed back in time to a world not your own. Let’s say, the Scottish Highlands of 1509. What? No coffee. No chocolate. Only watered-down sweet wine. What’s a gal to do?

Figure out a way to get home, of course. But, what if there is a hunk worthy guy, wearing a great kilt, showing off gorgeous assets? Oh, yeah, he also kisses like a dream. Makes your toes curl.  

Perhaps you could delay going home. Perhaps you could give up some of your favorite things. Perhaps you could fall in love with your very own Highlander. I would.


      Question to readers: what would you miss if you accidently landed in the past?

Giveaway: A $5 Starbucks e-gift card to one lucky commenting visitor.

 

Just Beyond the Garden Gate, A Highland Gardens Novel

Blurb:

Determined to regain her royal status, a banished faerie princess accepts a challenge from the High-Queen of the Fae to unite an unlikely couple while the clan brownie attempts to thwart her.

Passion ignites when a faerie-shove propels burned-out business consultant Laurie Bernard through the garden gate, back through time, and into the embrace of Patrick MacLachlan. The arrogant clan chief doesn’t know what to make of the lass in his arms, especially when he recognizes the brooch she wears as the one his stepmother wore when she and his father disappeared.

With the fae interfering at every opportunity, the couple must learn to trust one another while they battle an enemy clan, expose a traitor within their midst and discover the true fate of the missing parents. Can they learn the most important truth—love transcends time?

Excerpt:

Laurie opened her eyes a crack. Her head pounded, her pulse raced. This wasn’t good. Those couldn’t be two, huge, leather-clad feet inches from her face.

She opened her eyes wider. Raised her gaze higher.

Those feet—the ones that couldn’t be there—was it possible they were attached to two muscular calves wrapped in soft napped animal skins?

Higher still. Bare knees. Plaid wool and saffron linen.

Farther up, she took in all of the man who towered over her. Piercing blue eyes blinked. Crinkles appeared in the corners. He was grinning. Not outwardly. The perfectly shaped lips remained tight and straight, but something within this gorgeous man was pleased.

She gasped with recognition. This was her man, the one from her heated dreams and visions. The man she didn’t believe existed. The man who made her insides flip-flop.

Unsure what had just happened, she gave her head a firm shake. Mistake. Dizziness hit in waves. She swallowed hard. When the nausea passed, she pushed her palms against the ground and rose to her feet. Unsteady, she swayed. The stranger’s image blurred.

Large calloused hands gripped her arms. A strange though familiar jolt of energy coursed through her, causing her heart to beat too fast.

He quickly released her. He must have felt it too.

Again, she swayed. She reached for his support at the same time he took hold of her upper arms.

She blinked to clear her vision and moistened dry lips. The flash of desire in his eyes made her shiver. He smiled for real this time, leaned forward, placed a hand behind her head, and brushed her lips with his. Gentle at first, then with vigor, his tongue delved into her mouth.

Instinct insisted she struggle. Holding her body rigid, she fisted her hands, which he’d trapped within his embrace. She forced her fingers open and pressed her palms against his hard chest—a vain attempt to push him away.

The current flowing between them became overpoweringly seductive. No man had made her feel this way before. For several moments, she wavered between fighting him—a familiar stranger—and succumbing to the delicious sensations swamping her. He deepened the kiss, and the internal battle ended. Desire won. She clasped hold of the front of his shirt with shaky hands and kissed him back with pent-up passion.

Satiny lips anchored her in a storm of unfamiliar sensation. Pleasure vibrated along her body. She opened her eyes a slit. The intensity of the man’s shocking kiss matched the masculine power burning in his startling blue eyes.

His grip tightened. His fingers burned through her clothing, searing her skin. She closed misty eyes and sank into the reality of her dream lover’s embrace.

 

Links:

 

Buy at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CVXMS04

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/author/dawnmariehamilton

Blog:  http://dawnmariehamilton.blogspot.com/

Website:  http://dawnmariehamilton.com/

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/dawnm_hamilton

Talk Dirty to Me...or Not

Here I am again, asking questions about trends in romance.

Y'all know how I love the genre.

After reading it since the late sixties, I've seen many trends. But nothing like this.



 

So let me qualify some things before I delve into the heart of the matter. First off, I love romance in real life. I love flowers, long heated glances, slow pelvic-grinding dances, intimate whispers and small gestures of love. I also enjoy writing those kinds of scenes, because I feel our stories should reflect what we desire in real life. I desire to be treated with tenderness and respect. In fact, I demand it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FOUqQt3Kg0

 

For over twenty-five years, I worked in the male-dominated field of heavy metals--and no, I don't mean the music industry. Think Mack Trucks and machines that apply threads to the inside and outside of metal pipes. I worked in the oily muck and mire of industrial manufacturing. And, as one of the few women in a plant of hundreds of men, I was fodder for jokes and innuendos and come-ons. I hated it. But I loved my children and worked those jobs to provide for them.

 

Having strange men walk up to me at work and ask what size bra I wore or if I wanted a quick _uck or if I gave good head birthed a strong feminist nature. My thinking being if a man isn't going to respect me from the get-go, how's he going to treat me when life gets rough? And life has a habit of throwing crap on our driveways, doesn't it? How will he treat me when I'm sick or busy with the kids or too tired from work, cleaning and laundry to rock his world?

 

So imagine my shock and WTF attitude over some recently read romances where the hero talks dirty to the heroine. In the book I just finished last night, the heroine walks into the bar and hustles a game of pool to make some money. The hero can't take his eyes off her. They exchange some cute flirting banter and he leans in to whisper, "You're going home with me tonight and I'm going to be the best _uck of your life."

 

I read that sad line and laughed outloud, knowing how I'd handle Mr. God's Gift to Women. I'd coil my fingers around his wrist, trail a fingertip across his palm and sweetly say, "See this right here? This is all the action you're going to get tonight...Jerk!" Oh yeah, that's how this ol' broad would've handled it.

But what did this young woman do? She was so turned on by his audacity, she went home with him!

 

I wanted to slap my hand over my eyes. What the hell kinda message was this for young women?

He tries ordering her about in all phases of her life and she balks--thank God for something resembling self-respect from the heroine. So he tells her in his commanding attitude, that he'll put up with her sassy mouth and headstrong ways during the day. Excuse me? Sassy mouth and headstrong ways??? I call this independance. He calls it indulging her (Oh God, someone keep me from strangling this guy).

He goes on to say at night, when they are alone in the bedroom, she will obey his dirty talk, because she belongs to him. Kinda like a bicycle or his favorite pair of boots--my thoughts, not his words.

 

Now, I'm all for the alpha male. I enjoy confident men. Love them, in fact. However, I feel a man who's self-assured in his masculinity doesn't need to control a woman by being bossy. She'll respond better to his thoughtfulness and respect.

 

OR is this my age talking?

 

Is the younger generation of women happy to be bossed around like brainless ninnies?

I'm sorry, but if I'm having sex with a guy and he commands me to tell him he's got the biggest cock I've ever had, I'd have to stop and do a comparison. I would purposely let the air out of his ego-filled balloon.  If I'm a passenger in his car and he commands me to pull up my skirt and play with myself while he half-drives and half-ogles, as soon as he stops for the next red light, I am so outta that car.

 

I'm befuddled here, folks. This is the third romance I've read where the hero talks excessively dirty to the heroine and all three books are in the top 1000 rankings at Amazon. Are my alpha heroes with a soft spot for those they love out of style? Am I at the bus station waiting for my ship to come in?

What say you?

Eight Sentence Sunday with Vonnie Davis

 

Welcome to my stop on the Eight Sentence Sunday blog tour. Sundays are a great time to sit back, relax and hop from blog to blog, reading the excerpts of some great authors. I find a new writer to fall in love with every Sunday--more often than not, two.

My excerpt today is from RAIN IS A LOVE SONG, book two of my Red Hand Conspiracy romantic suspense series.

Gwen and her daughter have traveled to Paris for the birth of her sister's first child. While sitting at a sidewalk cafe, Jean-Luc arrives on a motorcycle dressed for undercover work, wearing long white angel wings over his black jeans and t-shirt. He and his boss at the French counterterrorism unit are talking further up the street when Gwen's child is snatched...

They’ve taken my child!” Gwen dashed for the van as it sped away. The vehicle took aim at Jean-Luc’s motorcycle and crushed its back wheel in the process, then careened into the street.

Heavy footsteps pounded behind her and a blur of white feathers sprinted by. The vehicle, trying to weave through traffic on the two-lane street, slowed. Jean-Luc’s long legs ate up the distance. He leapt onto the back bumper and scrambled for the top. The van spun around the corner with an avenging angel clinging to its roof.

 

If you'd like to see the book trailer, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE2F3BCp_es

My Winners and New Book Trailer

Time to announce the 3 winners of my 50,000-blog-visitors celebration. We had such a grand time chatting with each other. Your well-wishes were greatly appreciated. I'll be contacting the winners today. They are: Christine Elaine Black, Georgie Tyler and Maggie Toussaint.

I hired Theresa McClintock of Making it Reel(dot)com to design a book trailer for RAIN IS A LOVE SONG. She did a fantastic job. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE2F3BCp_es

A Celebration! 50,000 Visitors to Vintage Vonnie

 A little over 3 years ago, I attended Virginia's Festival of the Book. I sat in on a workshop about self-promotion. The speaker insisted  having a blog was imperative in reaching readers. Unfortunately, what I knew about blogging you could have fed to a parakeet for lunch. Still, I thought how hard could it be? Right? Obviously I had a lot to learn. My first posts were awkward ramblings. Now, after 3 years, my posts are still ramblings, just a tad less awkward.

I've found I love blogging. What I adore the most are the delightful people I've met along the way.

So, here we are at a milestone: 50,000 visits!

We ought to celebrate, right?

 

Follow my blog, if you don't already, and leave a comment to be eligible for a copy of one of my books. Your choice. I'm chosing 3 winners. One for every year Vintage Vonnie has been in the blog-o-sphere.