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Introducing Manic Monday & other blog changes ahead

If the title “Manic Monday” doesn’t have you tapping your toes and humming a certain Bangles hit, you must not be my age. I remember lying on the floor in my room, listening to that song repeatedly as I tried to write down all the lyrics. Of course, in sixth grade, I didn’t understand half of what I was hearing.

The song is especially apt since things have been crazy lately in the land of romance. Last Thursday was the big day: RWA announced RITA and Golden Heart finalists.

I didn’t earn a nomination — you can’t be nominated if you don’t enter — but I was thrilled for the chance to cheer my friends’ successes. Not just one but FOUR gals from my Golden Heart class of 2011, the Starcatchers, received RITA nominations, and at least one finaled in the GH. Two friends from another writers’ group I belong to, the LaLaLas, got Golden Heart nods.

Special congratulations to Starcatchers Anna Richland (His Road Home, Carina Press), Kimberly Kincaid (Pushing the Line, self-published), Tracy Brogan (The Best Medicine, Amazon Montlake) and Caitie Quinn (Worth the Fall, self-published); and to Starcatcher Arlene McFarlane (Murder, Curlers and Cream, romantic suspense) and LaLaLas Caroline Bradley (Indulge My Fantasy, a finalist in the GH’s new erotic romance category) and Kristal Hollis (Howlin Hearts, paranormal GH finalist).

I recognize lots of other names on the lists, and consider some of them my friends, such as Ruby Slippered Sister Amy Liz Talley, who finaled with her Harlequin Superromance The Sweetest September.

Good luck in New York, ladies. Wish I had the time off and the cash to join you!

In an attempt to beef up my blog, I’m planning to make Manic Monday a regular feature. I envision it including updates of what’s happening in my writing life — upcoming appearances, new projects, etc.

I’m also launching a Writer Wednesday feature, in which I’ll introduce other writers. I figure it’ll be easier to blog more regularly if I don’t always talk about me, myself and I. First up is fellow Turquoise Morning Press author Jennifer Anderson on April 15.

April 15? The dreaded tax day … and I have yet to do my taxes. I see a future of long hours cuddled up with TurboTax. Ugh.

Another regular feature on the blog will be the Friday Five — a quick list post of 5 things I’m loving this week … or find interesting, or … gee, I don’t know. Whatever the list is, there’ll be five things on it. I also plan to keep doing the “My Sexy Saturday” blog hop a couple of times a month.

What’s happening in my writing life right now?

— Turquoise Morning Press released Breaking All the Rules March 19. It’s the story of a by-the-book health care administrator forced by a new state law to hire a Klingon interpreter. The only applicant for the job is a devil-may-care guy with the appetite of a 14-year-old boy and a disturbing habit of flouting every rule imaginable. Get all the details on my Novels page.

— Just Right, part of TMP’s “and they lived happily ever after” set, comes out April 7. In this fairytale remaining of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” Goldilocks is Hollywood starlet Callista Gold, who flees to an Arizona mountain town to escape when hackers leak nude photos of her to the tabloids. The three bears are construction workers named Behr, whom Callie hires to renovate the cottage she’s bought, sight unseen.

It’s available for preorder now — the first of my books to be on preorder, so that’s exciting. Links to each bookseller are on my Novels page.

— On April 10-12, I’m taking part in the Goodreads Author Cyber Convention.

Click the banner to visit the fairgrounds. My “booth” is here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2223533-let-the-games-begin-arlene-hittle-s-contemporary-romantic-comedy.

I’ve promised to give away a $5 Amazon gift card to a new newsletter subscriber … so get on it. My newsletter comes out even less often than I update my blog, so you don’t have to worry about it cluttering up your inbox too often.

— In July, I’ll be signing books at the first-ever Payson Book Festival. The event is set for Saturday, July 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Gila Community College, located at 201 N. Mud Springs Road, Payson, Arizona. I’m sharing a table with my friend Susan Haught, who writes beautiful, lyrical stories. Her tagline: “Love is Ageless and has the power to change lives — one step, one touch, one kiss at a time.”

The festival wants print books, so I’m limited to selling Diva in the Dugout, Blind Date Bride and Home for the Holidays.

That’s it for this week.

#MySexySaturday: Their Sexy Talk

Since dialogue is my favorite, this week’s My Sexy Saturday theme is right up my alley! I’ll share a snippet from my new release, BREAKING ALL THE RULES.

In this scene, Van and Allyson are having dinner together for the first time. (She won’t call it a date because he works for her.) They’ve been drinking, and the alcohol loosens her tongue to the point that she tells him her deep, dark secret: She’s still carrying her v-card, thanks to an overprotective father who scared off any potential boyfriends.

Happy reading!

***

A rueful smile replaced the challenge that had flashed in her eyes a moment ago. “I didn’t go out much in college, either. Being dateless all through high school, I was still pretty socially inept. I stayed in most of the time, studied hard and graduated in three years.”

Van absorbed the information, which gave him a new perspective. Maybe Allyson was stuffy and uptight because social situations were uncomfortable for her.

Before he could probe the topic any further, the waitress arrived with their dinners. When the woman slid their plates in front of them, Allyson eyed his dinner with more interest than her own.

He playfully shook his finger at her. “Ah-ah-ah, Ms. Red Meat on Tuesdays. You missed your chance.”

She gave him another pretty pout. At the same time, beneath the table, she squeezed his knee. “I sure hope not.”

Van reached for their margarita so fast that he knocked over his almost-empty glass of water on the way. Water dribbled across the table toward Ally’s boring-looking chicken and veggies, but he needed a drink more than he needed to save her meal. He polished off the rest of the drink in one gulp.

Thus fortified, he was prepared to respond. “I might be willing to renegotiate.”

Find BREAKING ALL THE RULES at Turquoise Morning Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Smashwords and All Romance eBooks.

Who’s your captain?

I’m over at Just Contemporary Romance today, talking about my favorite Star Trek Captain.

Since I’ve been writing baseball-playing heroes, it’s been fun to geek out a little with Donovan Marshall, the Klingon-speaking hero of BREAKING ALL THE RULES. In my searches, I discovered this fun T-shirt from Star Trek Shop. It features the Top 10 Reasons Why Kirk is better than Picard:

In case you can’t read it:

10. One word: Hair!

9. Kirk would personally throw Wesley off the bridge

8. Kirk would never sing to children in a crisis

7. Kirk wasn’t shy about taking his shirt off

6. Kirk can beat a Klingon bare-handed

5. Three words: Flying leg kick

4. Kirk doesn’t let the doctor tell him what to do

3. If Kirk finds a strange, spinning probe, he blows it up

2. Kirk never drinks tea, ever (Not sure that’s a selling point …)

1. Kirk can beat a Vulcan at chess

Join me over at Just Contemporary Romance to discuss YOUR favorite Star Trek captain. Mine may not be who you think!

#MySexySaturday: Sexy Me Up

Every time I think I’m going to start posting here more regularly, something happens to throw me back off track. I get busy writing…working…doing sinks full of dirty dishes. Even these My Sexy Saturday posts don’t happen as regularly as I’d like.

This week’s theme is “Sexy Me Up,” and the way I read it, it’s pretty much author’s choice.

Remember, our sexiness can happen anywhere, anytime, day or night. People fall in love in many different ways. It could be on a date, at a school dance, on a hike, with the boy or girl next door, just anywhere two or sometimes more people or beings are drawn together because of that feeling called love.

Let’s do this. I’m sure I can find a nice moment between Van and Allyson, the hero and heroine of BREAKING ALL THE RULES, to share.

*Returns after perusing the manuscript*

Found one! In this scene, Van has talked Ally into having dinner with him. He tries to order for her — a mistake she quickly corrects. 😀

Enjoy!

***

After the waitress left, Donovan frowned at her. Surprisingly, his frown, too, did funny things to her insides. Or maybe the culprit was the delicious margarita she sipped.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

His eyebrows drew together. “You’ve wanted to eat here for eight years and you order the boring chicken?”

“I never said I wanted the steak. I came for the show.”

“But I brought you here for steak.”

“You came for steak,” she corrected before taking another small drink. The margarita was delicious—a perfect blend of salty and sweet. She’d have to be careful not to overindulge, because it’d be too easy to drink the whole thing. “I only eat red meat once a week—and it’s not on Friday night.”

Donovan’s lips twitched into a not-quite smile. “When, exactly, do you eat red meat, Allyson?”

BREAKING ALL THE RULES will be available this month from Turquoise Morning Press. Can’t wait to share all of Van and Allyson’s adventures with you!

Seven things you don’t know about me

The “Seven Things You Don’t Know About Me” post has been going around Facebook lately — and I thought it’d make a great post for the ol’ neglected blog. (I’m trying to blog more regularly … really I am.)

Here they are, in no particular order.

1. After reading Gone With the Wind in seventh grade, I spent several years wanting to live in a restored plantation house in Georgia. It would have a music room and large library, the walls all lined with books. And I’d have three cats: a black one named Rhett, a white one named Ashley and a tiger-striped one named Scarlett.

2. My first car was an ’83 (or maybe ’85) Mazda GLC sedan. It was really my mom’s car, but I drove it until my senior year of college, when it died on my way home from Evansville. We were just down the road from the Mazda dealer in Terre Haute, and I had to pay $60-plus to have the darn thing towed two blocks. I replaced it with my friend Angel’s Chevy Cavalier because she was moving to Florida and refused to have a car with no air conditioning in Florida. I didn’t mind the lack of air conditioning — but the absence of a rear window defroster was a real pain. My Mazda — named “Third” because it was the third name he went through — was the color of the one at the right, but I don’t remember it being quite that shape.

3. I started playing flute in the fifth grade, and later also played piccolo. I loved marching band and playing in the pep band for basketball games — but hated concert band. I started marching with the high school band in sixth grade. The director let me play my flute. Then we got a new director who relegated me to the color guard — so I’m handy with a flag and streamers. Not so much the rifle. I could never get the balance right.

4. Speaking of “get the balance right,” I’m a big Depeche Mode fan. My iTunes has 66 DM songs from 10 albums. DM lyrics often creep into my everyday conversation, and I used to quote “New Dress” in college poli sci papers. (What can I say? It illustrates how a vote can change the world.) “Wrong” is the theme song of one of my most favorite heroes ever, Mike James. (Sadly, he has yet to see published status. Someday.) One quirk: I prefer the darker Depeche Mode — the happy, peppy stuff off “Speak and Spell” doesn’t do it for me.

5. I do not like horror movies (big surprise there, right?), but I can watch Lifetime “woman in peril” movies for hours on end. I also love “Criminal Minds,” and any of the the true crime shows on ID.

6. I once did a phone interview with Pauly Shore. Yes, this is my one and only brush with Hollywood greatness. He was sick and kept asking for soup.

7. I have a collection of board games, including several versions of Monopoly. My “Loganopoly” is set in Logansport, Ind., the town where I spent my first five years after college graduation. “Star Wars” Monopoly pays out Imperial Credits instead of dollar bills, and the top properties are on Coruscant (if I remember correctly). It came out with the 1990s re-release of Episodes 4-6, when I couldn’t get enough of everything “Star Wars.” I devoured the “Jedi Twins” books, in which Luke ran the Jedi Academy and was educawhich told the story of Luke’s niece and nephew, and the Han Solo trilogy. I watched and re-watched Kevin Smith movies just for the “Star Wars” references. “Dogma” was the reason I first fell in love with Alan Rickman — loved him as the Metatron. (His portrayal of Snape further cemented my crush on him.) Why couldn’t I have had a phone interview with him?

Bonus: I have a black thumb. My parents had a garden where they grew their own corn, beans and tomatoes — but I can’t even keep a windowsill herb garden alive. It’s sad, because cherry tomatoes fresh off the vine, warmed by the summer sun, are the best tomatoes ever.

#MySexySaturday: My sexy addiction

With BREAKING ALL THE RULES coming out in a few short weeks, I should probably be giving you a teaser from it.

But when I saw this week’s My Sexy Saturday theme was “My Sexy Addiction,” I couldn’t resist. I simply had to pick a scene starring Mike James.

You see, Mike is probably MY sexy addiction. Don’t get me wrong: I love each and every one of my heroes—all for different reasons. However, if I were pressed to pick one, it’d have to be Mike, the sports reporter/stripper/inveterate flirt who captures the attention of not one but two women of Willow’s Grove.

In OPERATION SNAG ~~MIKE~~ BRAD, education reporter Erin starts out lusting after Mike but soon learns life is what happens when you’re making other plans. Mike, who has what he thinks are good reasons for flirting the way he does, secretly longs for the kind of girl he uses his reputation to hold at bay—until a drunken night with coworker Breanne forces him to face his demons once and for all. (That’s OVEREXPOSED, the third Willow’s Grove book.)

These seven sentences are from near the end of Erin and Brad’s story, in which Mike plays a big part. He’s a third POV in the manuscript—a departure for me, since I usually stick to just the hero and heroine POVs.

See? I know Mike better than any other character I’ve created, so he’ll always have a special place in my heart.

***

She followed her roommate’s finger to the couch, where a shirtless Mike snored. A blanket rode low on his hips, exposing the flat, tan plane of his stomach — and hinting at a bottom half as naked as the top. Erin quickly looked away, finding the cat that belonged to the cat condo in the corner of the room. A big, gray furball watched them from its perch on the back of the couch. She suppressed a nervous giggle and jabbed her elbow into Cassie’s ribs. “Maybe he really does sunbathe in November.”

“Maybe,” Cassie replied, appreciatively ogling the sleeping sportswriter. “I’m beginning to understand what you two see in him.”

“Not me. Not anymore.” Sure, Mike’s … umm … man candy was worth admiring. But she meant it when she added, “I prefer something a little — lot — more real.”

Cassie snickered. “Bree doesn’t share your sentiment.”

Sure enough, Bree’s gaze was still riveted to Mike’s bare midsection. Her eyes glittered with interest. Knowing what it was like to lust after something she couldn’t have, Erin took pity on her. With very little effort, she might be able to get the blanket to shift a little lower.

“Close your mouth, Bree. You’re starting to drool,” she muttered under her breath. Then she cleared her throat — loudly. “Yo, James.”

Bree squeaked with alarm. At the same time, Mike smacked his lips and rolled onto his back. The blanket moved a fraction of an inch higher. Crap. “Not what I was aiming for.”

Operation Snag ~~Mike~~ Brad is still unpublished — for now. But if you liked this snippet, check out my Amazon author page for my published stories.

My Sexy Saturday — Valentine’s special

It’s Saturday — and you know what that means. Time for the My Sexy Saturday blog hop.

I’m in a bit better headspace to pick a sexy scene now than I was a few hours ago. Then, I’d just discovered that when you Google “Arlene Hittle Author,” the first link that comes up (purportedly to my site) misdirects people to some spam site hawking cheap NFL jerseys. I’m still trying to get the mess straightened out, so until then, type “arlenehittle.com” into your browser instead.

This week’s My Sexy Saturday theme is “a sexy Valentine.”

Umm … I don’t think ANY of my books has a Valentine’s Day-specific scene. Most of the action happens in summer and fall. BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER is set in March, after the big V-day. And my novella, HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, happens in winter, covering the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Luckily, I have an out:

” …Share all those sexy moments that you have between your characters even if your story doesn’t exactly fit the theme this week…remember every relationship is important!”

That I can do!

Let’s go with a moment from my upcoming March release, BREAKING ALL THE RULES. BREAKING is the story of a by-the-book health care administrator who finds herself in need of a Klingon interpreter. Of course, the main candidate for the job is a sexy man who’s never met a rule he didn’t want to break. In this scene …

Enjoy!

***

He pressed his lips together and suppressed a sudden urge to kiss her senseless. One of them had to maintain a certain sense of decorum—and apparently tonight, he’d have to appoint himself to the task.

That’ll be a switch.

He tapped two fingers against each knee. Every strike reinforced the message: This is your boss, dumbass. The woman who signs your paycheck.

Okay then. Time to change the subject. Unfortunately, his mouth had other ideas. “What happened to by-the-book Allyson?”

She pouted. “You don’t like the new me?”

“It’s not that.” He gulped again. Maybe air would magically restart the flow of blood to his brain. “I think maybe I like the new you a little too much.”

That scared her. He saw the moment old stuffy Allyson regained the upper hand. She turned back to the mirror and began taming her hair. With every pin that went in, she stood straighter, stiffer—more like herself.

BREAKING ALL THE RULES is set for release the week of March 19. Visit my Turquoise Morning Press author page for already-available titles.

#CoverReveal — Breaking All the Rules

I posted my new cover on my Facebook author page already, but it hit me I should share it here on the blog.

Yes, I realize I’ve been neglecting the blog despite what I learned at RWA Nationals last summer. I’m trying to get better — promise. Things are still crazy here, what with the new job and everything.

Without further ado, here’s the cover for BREAKING ALL THE RULES.

It’s set to come out the week of March 19. In fact, I’m going through the galley now.

BREAKING, about a by-the-book mental health facility administrator who must hire a Klingon interpreter, is a departure from my Love & Baseball stories. I’m so excited to let my geek side frolic.

The blurb:

Some rules are meant to be broken. If only they could agree on which ones…

Faced with compliance of a ridiculous new Arizona law, by-the-book mental health care facility administrator Allyson Cunningham must find an interpreter who speaks a made-for-TV language. Prime candidate Donovan Marshall has the language skills she so desperately needs, but shows a disturbing disregard for all rules and restrictions. While Allyson struggles to secure another perfect rating for her facility, convince Donovan to conform and control her inappropriate attraction to an employee, Donovan makes it his prime directive to persuade starchy Ally it doesn’t hurt to break a few rules.

My Sexy Saturday: You’re so sexy

Long time no blog, eh? So much for those weekly posts I was supposed to be writing after coming home from San Antonio in July.

January has been a busy month. I started a new job in a new city. I’m still looking for a permanent place to live. I have to pack up 13+ years of crap that’s accumulated in the Flagstaff house.

I’m getting back into the rhythm of working days. Spoiler alert: It’s really cutting into my writing/editing time at Starbucks.

Since I’m fresh off the blog tour for BLIND DATE BRIDE, I’ve decided to share a moment from Kari & Damien’s story for this week’s entry into the My Sexy Saturday linkup.

In this scene, the reluctant bride and groom have just completed a couples’ yoga class — an intense experience that brings them closer than ever. In fact, it brings them so close that Kari’s willing to take a chance.

****

Tentatively, Kari traced the muscles of his shoulders and back. Slowly, her hand trailed to his rear end and then around front to flutter over his now-raging hard-on.

It was Damien’s turn to groan. Even that featherlight touch through the fabric of his yoga pants was driving him wild. Roughly, he yanked her pants down over her hips and cupped the mound of her sex.

When she made a soft sound of protest and pushed his hand away, he groaned again. So, she wasn’t quite ready yet. He captured her lips again, stroking her face, shoulders and thighs as his tongue plunged in and out of her mouth in an imitation of the sex act he wanted to be engaged in.

Slowly, he felt Kari’s resistance melting. Sending another thank-you into the universe, he pushed down his pants and positioned himself between her thighs.

Bright light flooded the Element.

“What the—?” Damien spat a curse.

A split second later, he had his answer. Sam’s voice announced cheerfully, “Found ’em.”

Find BLIND DATE BRIDE at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and in print at CreateSpace or Amazon.

BRIDE got a book tour for Christmas

Okay, not exactly. I arranged a swap with Paige Rion of Worldwind Virtual Book Tours. I edit a manuscript for her and she organizes a book tour for me. Work on both is ongoing.

BLIND DATE BRIDE’s book tour starts on Dec. 30. You can get the full schedule here.